Enduring Love
by Ikuinen Talvi
Summary: After dating for a while, human Jasper and already wolf Seth get into a horrifying car wreck, with critical results for Jasper; here's the catch though: Seth has yet to tell Jasper about the wolf, or the fact that he is his Imprint. When Dr. Cullen tells Seth the only way to save Jasper is via venom, will the vampire and wolf be able to endure love? Rated M:sex/language Seth/Jasper
1. Seth

**Hi everyone. So, I'm writing a new fiction instead of using some of my old stuff. It's going to be from a human Jasper's POV, and it's going to be a Seth/Jasper pairing, M/M, rated M for slash of the sex variety and language. If you don't like it, then don't read it :)**

XXX

I used to live in Texas. We lived in Dallas, the huge city, and even though you would expect me to have a deep southern accent, I didn't really have one. I guess that was a good thing about living in the city. We'd lived there for a long time, since I'd been born. But then, my father got a promotion, and we had to move.

I was seventeen, but I was forced to go with them because of my status as a minor. My father's promotion was about moving to a remote location, a town called Forks, in Washington, and to start a new branch of the company in Port Angeles. His company was a chain of grocery stores called Carter's.

"Why don't we just move to Port Angeles then?" I'd asked, when they told me that he would have to drive an hour to and from work.

"Property values. Besides, the company is paying for us to move and the house," My father had told us. So, a month later, after uprooting me, my two older siblings (the twin brothers, Jack and James (I think my mom had a thing for J names, as her name was Jenny and my father's name was John) were eighteen), and saying goodbye to all of my friends, we were on our way to Forks, Washington.

I fell asleep on the way up, as we took a plane, and was woken nearly three hours later by my brother James as we touched down in Port Angeles. I yawned and looked at my watch. It was almost 7 in the evening, and I wondered how my mom planned for us to get to Forks. My father had decided that he would drive the Escape all the way up to Forks by himself, and he promised my mom that he would be careful and would see us all when he got up there.

I walked with my mom and brothers to the baggage claim, where we all grabbed our luggage.

"How are we getting to Forks?" I asked mom, and she sighed.

"I guess via taxi cab," She said, and we walked out, and I looked up at the sky, which was gray.

"Lovely," I muttered under my breath, and followed my mom as she asked someone about taxi services.

About fifteen minutes later, when the sky had just opened up and started pouring down rain, a taxi cab pulled up, and we piled our bags into it and climbed in.

"Forks, please," My mom said, and we were on our way.

An hour later, we were arriving at our new home.

It was a large white vinyl sided thing. It had two levels, and a black door. I looked up into the rainy sky, and sighed.

My mom took a small golden key out of her pocket and we walked up the small path to the front door. I heard my brothers pushing each other around like idiots and I sighed again. My mom inserted the key, and opened the door.

The inside was nice. It had a beige carpet and white walls, a stair case to the left of the door to go upstairs, a door to the kitchen, and the company had even bought us matching furniture.

I looked around the room, and then at my mom, who's eyes had widened, and then she looked back at me, and then out of the door, where my brothers were still horsing around.

"Jack! James! Get in this house and stop acting like idiots!" She called. As soon as the door shut behind them, she had us going up the stairs to figure out bedrooms.

The master bedroom went to my parents, the next biggest room, to the twins, and the smallest room in the corner went to me. I didn't mind. I preferred the smaller room. It was more quaint that way. I spent my first hour unpacking everything into the small wooden chest of drawers. Then, as I was about to search around for my easel and paints, I realized that my father had them. He had the big stuff with him in the Escape on the way to Forks. Hell, he probably wouldn't be here for at least the week.

I laid down on my bed and did my best to get comfortable, doing nothing but staring up at the ceiling. After thirty minutes of that, I'd had enough and decided to go to the bathroom. I looked at myself as I washed my hands, and realized that I had awful jet hair, and the bags under my eyes couldn't have been more obvious. I had fare pale skin, but I wasn't as white as paper, something I was thankful for. I had blond hair that at the moment was tangled, and reached my chin, and I had blue eyes. I was tall, and my body lean, though I was on the more toned side. People often mistook my brothers and I for triplets, even though I had my mother's nose and they had my father's.

"Jasper?" My mother called from down the stairs.

"Coming," I answered. I took the stairs quickly, and I was surprised to see her at the door.

"Yes mom?" I asked, and she stepped aside slightly to reveal a woman and a boy, who I took to be her son, with her.

"Jasper, this is Sue and her son Seth Clearwater. They live down on the reservation in La Push. They were visiting our next door neighbor, Charlie Swan, the chief of police, when we were moving in," She said. I looked out the door at them, and I smiled politely. The boy looked just like his mom, and he was probably around my age. He had long black hair, russet colored skin, and brown eyes. He was gorgeous that was for sure. Luckily, my parents and brothers accepted the fact that I was gay, even though they collectively agreed that I wasn't allowed to kiss any boy in front of them. He smiled at me, and his bright white smile was dazzling.

"Won't you come in?" My mother asked, tugging my sleeve back to admit both of the Clearwater's into the hall.

"Oh, yes thanks. I don't suppose you've been to the store to buy food yet, have you?" Mrs. Clearwater asked, stepping into the house from the rain, and removing her black jacket to reveal a light purple blouse underneath.

"No, actually, my husband has the car. Driving up from Texas you know," My mom explained.

"Well, luckily I have some left overs in the car; Charlie, the chief, can't cook to save his life, so was giving his daughter Bella a break for the night. Seth, go out and bring in the leftovers," Sue said, and he turned around, heading out towards a black truck.

"Jasper, go help him," My mom commanded, walking with Mrs. Clearwater into the kitchen. I walked out into the rain, a small spring in my step as I followed the beautiful boy, despite the depressing weather.

"I'm Seth," He said as I met him out at the car. I gave him a small shy smile and grabbed his hand as he extended it.

"I'm Jasper. Jasper Whitlock," I said. He smiled back at me, before releasing his hand from mine and using it to open the door to the truck. I waited for him to hand me something, but he never did.

He had three bags in his hands, and looked at me.

"Well, would you mind getting the doors for me?" He asked, and I hastily reached forward to close the truck door. I held the screen door open for him, and then followed him into the kitchen, where he sat the bags on the counter.

I raised an eyebrow at my mom, who was laughing with Sue like they'd known each other for a very long time. She caught my glance and then looked at the food on the table.

"I hope there's some kind of vegetable in there," She said, giving me a grin.

"Of course. But why do you ask?" Sue asked.

"My youngest son, Jasper, is a vegetarian," she said.

"Oh. Well, I think you might like my salad then," She said, smiling at me.

"What kind is it?" I asked, my interest peaked.

"Homegrown Caesar," She said, and my mouth started watering. I loved homegrown vegetables.

XXX

I was allowed to eat my salad up in my room, and Seth came up with me.

"So, Texas," He said, standing after I'd sat down.

"Yeah. We used to live in Dallas," I said. "Why don't you sit down?" I asked, motioning to my bed.

"Sure," He sat down and looked at me. "So, how come you really don't have an accent then?"

"Well, since Dallas is a city, we don't go into the country much. I have some cousins that have accents though, and they grew up in the city though. I guess it depends on how you get raised," I said, shrugging and spearing some lettuce on my fork.

"Oh, that's cool," He said, watching me eat my salad. I finished in silence and sat the bowl on the floor.

"I'll take it when you leave," I explained, noticing him eying the plate.

"Okay," He said, and smiled at me. "So how come you moved to the rainiest town in the US?" He asked.

"The rainiest? Damn," I said, and he chuckled. "What?" I asked.

"It's funny. I guess you don't really like the rain then," He stated.

"I can deal with it as long as I'm not stuck in it," I said.

"So what do you like to do?" He asked me, reaching up to tuck some hair behind his ear.

"Um," I said, momentarily mesmerized by something that smelled wonderful.

"What?" He asked, looking confused.

"Oh, sorry. Something just smells good is all," I said, and he laughed.

"You must be smelling my hair. I use a shampoo that kinda smells like citrus fruit," He said, holding some of it out to me. I leaned down and held a bit of it in my hand. It was soft and smooth, like silk, and when I smelled it, I knew that I had just gotten a whiff of his shampoo.

"That's it. It smells very nice," I said, and gave him a sheepish grin. "So, what did you ask before I got distracted?"

"Oh, I was asking what you like doing,"

"I do a lot of stuff. I like to read, write, draw, and paint. I actually have my own easel and set of paints and brushes, but it's all with my dad," I said.

"Awe, that's too bad. Do you have any examples like, on your phone?" He asked.

"I do actually," I said, reaching into my pocket to pull out my cell. I flipped through the pictures until I found my favorite painting. I had gotten bored one night, so I decided to try something unusual.

"Is that a wolf? It's gorgeous," He said, smiling into the picture. The wolf gazed up at us through its blue eyes, and they seemed to follow you around.

"Thanks," I said, before closing my phone again.

"I wish you would've left it out," He said.

"How come?" I asked.

"Well, how am I supposed to get in touch with you if we don't have each other's phone numbers?" He smiled, and we both reached for our phones at the same time. We programmed our numbers in, and then handed the phone back to the owner.

"There," he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"So, what do you like to do?" I asked, and he grinned.

"Being with friends, and basically anything that stops me from being bored," He smiled at me, and I was again startled by the brightness of it.

"I love your smile," I blurted out without thinking. I gasped and felt my face coloring red as the chagrin took over my emotions.

"Thanks," He said, smiling at me. "I like yours too," He said.

I raised an eyebrow, but we heard Sue calling from down the stairs.

"Seth? Come on, we need to go. You're father just finished watching the game with Charlie," She called.

"Okay," He called and I reached down to grab the bowl at the same time that he swung his knee off of the bed. His knee cap slammed into my elbow, and the bowl flew out of my hand and smacked the wall.

"Whoops," He said, and quickly rushed over to get the bowl, and when he handed it back to me, his face was full of blush. "Sorry." He said.

"It's okay," I smiled and we both headed down the stairs.

I quickly washed the bowl and fork, and gave them back to Sue, who handed them to Seth to carry.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," Sue said, and gave my mom a hug and me a hand shake.

"Come by anytime," My mother said, and I couldn't help but think the same thing for Seth.

I followed them out, and I was just about to shut the door when a foot appeared in the crack.

"Yes?" I asked, and opened it back up to Seth, who was grinning at me.

"Sorry, I just forgot something," He said.

"Okay?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes as his mom called for him.

"A bunch of the guys are going camping this weekend. Would you like to go?" He asked.

"Um, sure," I said, smiling.

"Good, see you then," He said.

"See you," I called as he ran to the truck.

I closed the door, and turned around to lean on it. I caught my mother looking at me, an eyebrow raised.

"What?" I asked.

"Camping?" She asked, and we both laughed. "Well, he must have made an impression," She said.

"I think so," I said, and then took up the stairs to my room.

**Well, that was my first time writing from Jacob's perspective. What do you think? Do you think it's worth continuing? Let me know! Reviews are very welcome :)**

**Much love and hugs,**

**Matthew**


	2. Truth

**Your Angel Matt: Thanks brother (: I'm glad you liked it. **

XXX

I spent the rest of the night in my room, wondering why I hadn't heard from my best friends from home yet. They all told me that they would text me that night, but then, they all had lives of their own. I had just laid down for the night, when my phone went off. I checked it, and was surprised to find a text, not from one of my friends back in Texas, but from Seth, and I smiled.

_Hey there Jasper_ he said.

_Hi Seth. How're you?_

_Good. So you really wanna go with us on the camping trip?_

_You kidding? I'd love to. Besides, I don't wanna be cramped up in this house all week. I'm not starting school till Monday._ I sighed as I sent that. It was only Tuesday.

_Cool :) So, since it's gonna four days till the trip, do you wanna go meet the guys that'll be going tomorrow?_

_Really? That would be great!_

_Okay, I'll be by to pick you up around three tomorrow._

_Thanks._

_No problem. Well, I'd better go. Dad's calling._

_Night Seth._

_Night Jasper._

I smiled to myself and put the phone on the charger before laying back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. I didn't know what it was, but something about this was super sweet, and I liked him.

I don't know what time I fell asleep, but I woke up soon after, around three in the morning. I didn't like it here. Everything was just so quiet. It wasn't like in Dallas, where you could at least hear traffic outside your bedroom window, if you had one.

I got up and stumbled to the bathroom, and splashed water on my face. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, startled by the shadows under my eyes. Lack of sleep already? I sighed and dragged myself back to my room.

I didn't sleep well for the rest of the night. I didn't know if it was because of the jet lag, or if it was due to the new location, but it was something.

I finally managed to get a full hour of sleep until I woke up around eleven the next morning. I stumbled down the stairs, rubbing my eyes sleepily, finding a note from my mother.

_Jas,_

_ I'm going out with your brothers. We need to get some food and other things for the house. I hope you at least had a good night, I know that neither of us three did. Your father called this morning, said that he was just getting back out onto the road. He said to expect him by Friday. If you want to do anything, go ahead, just leave a note._

_Love you,_

_ Mom_

I yawned and stepped outside. I wasn't surprised to see that the sky was gray again, but it wasn't raining – yet of course. I didn't know how long it would be before the rain, and it made me sigh. I looked around, noticing the police car pulled into the driveway at our next door neighbors house. I was suddenly glad that I slept in sweat pants and a T-shirt. I walked back inside, grabbed a pair of shoes from my room, and headed out.

I was walking along the sidewalk when I heard someone laughing from a car riding down the road. I looked up and saw a silver Volvo flying down the road. I barely got a glimpse of the driver before he vanished pulled the car into a wide arc into the driveway of my neighbors house. He was exceptionally pale, and he had bronze hair. He climbed out and I gasped. He was beautiful, that was for sure, but something about him screamed 'danger' at me. He must've heard my gasp, because he turned around, and gave me a small smile, and waved.

"Edward?" Someone asked, and I looked past the boy named Edward to see a pale girl with long brown hair and brown eyes looking between the two of us.

"Oh, coming Bella. Sorry, I was just getting a glimpse of your new neighbor," He said, and my eyebrows crossed at his voice. It was so...formal sounding.

"Hi. I'm Bella Swan," She called walking over to me.

"Hi, Jasper Whitlock," I said, and shook her slightly extended hand.

"This is Edward Cullen, my boyfriend," She explained, and I shook his hand too, surprised by the icy feel of his skin. Everything about him was strange.

"So, um... I don't want to be rude or anything, but like, don't you have school?" I asked.

"Oh, no, Edward and I graduated last year," She said smiling.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"So, where do you come from, Jasper?" Edward asked politely.

"Dallas, Texas. Dad's opening a supermarket in Port Angeles," I said.

"Oh, that's nice. Do you miss the city?" Bella asked me.

"Yes," I said.

"I understand. I'm actually from Phoenix," She said.

"Oh, that's interesting," I said, smiling at her.

"Thanks," She said, and then I noticed that Edward had pulled out a phone, and was just putting it back into his pocket.

"Sorry, it was nice meeting you, but I'm afraid that my fiancé and I must run," He said.

"Oh, you're getting married?" I asked. "How wonderful."

"Thank you. Well, have a nice day Jasper," Bella said, and she climbed back into the Volvo.

"Have a nice day," Edward said, before getting into the car and driving away.

"That... was odd," I said to myself. I returned home and went up to my room, pulling out an old copy of one of my favorite books. It had an odd title, called _Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie._ It was about this little boy and how his younger brother gets cancer. It was one of my favorites, and I'd read it over ten times. When one o'clock rolled around, there was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, I was greeted by Sue, who was holding bags.

"I took your mom and brothers out to the store. Seth asked if I would bring you over when I left," She said, and I nodded.

When all of the groceries were in, I helped put them away, and then told mom about going to Seth's house.

"Okay, have fun," She said.

"Where ya going?" Jack asked as I was about to leave.

"Going over to the Clearwater's. Seth is taking me to hangout with his friends that I'll be camping with," I said.

"You, camping?" James asked coming around the corner, and I was glad that Sue was already out in her truck. "What the hell did this kid do to you?" He asked, and I blushed.

"Oh, James, I think our little brother is developing a crush," Jack said, and I blushed harder.

"Shut up Jack," I muttered.

"Ha. I don't think so," He said, but I saw James flash him a look. Unlike Jack, James actually liked me.

"Have fun bro. Keep it up, flirt a bit, and you might have this boy falling for you," He said.

"I don't think so. I can't tell if he's bi or gay or anything," I said.

"Well, why don't you just ask him?" He suggested, and I was mortified. But before I could answer, Sue beeped her horn, and I hastily gave James a hug before high tailing it out of the house.

We pulled up to the Clearwater house in about fifteen minutes. It was about the same as ours, but it was a pale blue color.

As I climbed out, a woman that looked remarkably like Sue but with shorter hair came out of the house in a pair of faded blue cutoffs and a black tank top.

"Who's this?" She asked Sue, jerking her head towards me.

"Leah, this is Charlie's new neighbor, Jasper Whitlock. Seth invited him over," She said. "Seth, this is my daughter Leah."

"Nice to meet you," I said politely and she gave me an unsmiling nod.

"Where are you going Leah?" Sue asked.

"Out mom. I thought I'd go for a run before going over to Sam's with Seth, and... Jasper?" She asked.

"Yep," I said, and she actually smiled.

"Okay," Sue said. "But just remember that Seth wanted to go over about 3:30."

"Sure," Leah said, setting off at a run.

"Seth is actually probably asleep," Sue said as we walked in. "Go up the stairs, and turn left. His room is the last on the right."

"Yes ma'am," I said, and she laughed.

"I'm just Sue. Not old enough to be a 'ma'am' yet," She joked.

I headed up the stairs and turned left like she instructed. There were two rooms on this end, one with the door open, and the other with the door closed. The closed door was on the left, so I assumed it was Leah's room, and the open door on the right must have been Seth's.

I lightly knocked on the door before walking in, but it would've done no good. He was sleeping alright. He had thrown his comforter onto the floor during his sleep and his sheet tangled around him. He was shirtless but luckily in boxer shorts. I took a few deep breaths and lightly touched his shoulder.

He grunted, and I smiled a bit. He was actually really cute asleep.

"Seth?" I said, and I jolted backwards and into the fetal position with my hands over my head as Seth shot straight up, grabbing for the sheet to cover his body.

"Holy shit!" He yelled, and it scared the hell out of me. My body started shaking hard.

"Jasper! What on earth?" He said, and I felt his hand on my shoulder. I looked up a bit and found him kneeling in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, and I shakily nodded my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you that bad. I just didn't expect your voice. I expected mom's, and when I heard you, it startled me. Not to mention that I'm... well, I look like crap, and I'm shirtless," He said, and I realized that he was blushing.

I nodded again, and he gently pulled me into a hug.

"Sorry," He said.

"It's okay," I said, and he let me go, but grabbed my hand to haul me to my feet.

"Let me go shower and change clothes, and we'll be good to go," He smiled at me.

"So... do you want me to just stay in here?" I asked, wondering if that wouldn't be awkward. I know that back home, if I had a friend over, they weren't allowed in my room alone, but then, I had some trust issues.

"Sure. Make yourself comfortable. Hell, lay down if you want," He said, flashed me another smile, and then vanished down the hallway.

I sighed a bit as I looked at the state of his room. There was no way I would sit on his bed like that. I quickly made it up and sat gingerly on the end of it. I looked around me. On his walls were a bunch of different pictures, mostly of what seemed to be him and friends and family. I did notice one that I had no clue where he'd gotten it. It was of me, looking out of my window back at the house. He must have taken it when I wasn't paying attention.

I wondered about how I looked. I looked lost in thought, my lower lip slightly sticking out. My head rested on my knee, and my eyes were reflecting the rain on the window.

"Oh, guess you found the pictures then," Seth said, startling me.

"Yeah. When did you take this one of me?" I asked, indicating it, hoping that he wouldn't notice my jumping.

"I took it yesterday, when you gave me my phone back," He said, sticking his tongue out at me. "So, are you OK?" He asked, a concerned look on his face. I glanced down slightly, noticing that he was wearing a white shirt and jeans, and his hair had been blow dried and combed through.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. In reality, I wasn't. But I wasn't about to tell him that. Apparently, I'm a bad liar.

"Come on, out with it," He said. "What's wrong?"

"N...nothing," I said.

"Jasper," He said, his voice low and concerned.

"Fine," I said, moving to sit on his bed.

"Look, my father isn't my real father. He's my step dad. Has been since I was six," I said, and he nodded.

"And?" He urged, and I took a deep breath.

"I haven't told anyone this before," I said, and he nodded. "My real father used to beat me. And he encouraged my older brothers to bully me and beat up on me too," I said, and I heard him gasp in horror.


	3. Walks

**Sarah: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :)**

XXX

"Oh my God Jasper, I'm so sorry," He said.

"Yeah, well, mom divorced him and moved us to Dallas," I said, shrugging it off.

"I'm sorry," He said, and I looked at him.

"Honestly, Seth, it's okay," I said, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Okay, if you say so," He said, and then stretched his arms wide and yawned. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I'm up for anything," I answered, and gazed up at him. He was very tall, and I was about a head shorter than him.

"How would you feel about going for a walk down on the beach?" He asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Beach?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's about a fifteen minute walk from here," He said.

"Sure. Lead the way," I laughed and we walked out of his room and started down the stairs. We'd just made it to the door when a man that looked exactly like Seth, who I assumed to be his father, just with gray hair, walked out of the kitchen.

"Seth, where are you off to?" He asked.

"Jasper and I are going for a walk down to the beach," Seth said.

"Okay. So, you're Jasper Whitlock. Seth hasn't really stopped talking about you since he got home. I'm Harry Clearwater," He said, reaching out to shake my hand. I shook his and blushed at the thought of Seth talking about me.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Clearwater," I said, and he let out a hearty laugh.

"No one calls me Mr. Clearwater except for my lawyer," He said. "The name's Harry,"

"Yes sir," I said, and he shook his head at my politeness.

"You kids have fun," He said as he walked back past the kitchen and into the living room. When Seth opened the door, it was to Leah, who was panting and sweating a little.

"Hey kiddo," She said, ruffling Seth's hair. "Where are you two off to?" She asked.

"Beach," Seth explained, and then pushed past his sister. I gave a quick confused look to Leah who simply shrugged and walked inside. I caught up to Seth, who had already started walking, and grabbed his elbow to get him to look at me.

"Do you not like Leah or something?" I asked, and he grinned at me.

"Well, you know how it is with older siblings. Besides, I wanted to get started on my walk with you," He said. I laughed a bit and we started walking. It was actually very quiet on the walk, and we didn't encounter anyone. I started whistling aimlessly and then we reached the beach.

"Wow," I said, gazing out at the ocean. It was actually very nice, despite the weather and the fact that water appeared to be gray.

"Yeah, it's nice isn't it?" Seth asked. I nodded, and we started walking again. Seth didn't say anything until we were walking along the edge of the surf, not quite in it's reach yet.

I stopped for a moment, and bent down to take off my shoes and socks. I stuffed the socks inside of the shoes and set them in one hand, then walked into the water about ankle deep. I jumped a bit at the cold and shuddered as I felt goosebumps.

"Yeah, extra cold water," He warned jokingly. We walked in the same quiet fashion for about five minutes before I decided that my feet felt like blocks of ice. I walked back into the sand and had them nice and dirty in no time. When we started back up, he pointed to a piece of white driftwood that looked like it had two pieces intertwined together.

When we got up to it, I was happy to see that it was big enough for the both of us to sit on.

"It's so nice here," I said, and he smiled at me.

"Do you like it? We're on the La Push res beach, but it could be like, our spot," He said. I glanced up at him through my eyelashes, and I saw him blushing a bit, looking out at the sea.

"Sure," I said, and I saw him smile. "You're very sweet you know," I said, and this time, I looked away.

"Thanks. I try to be nice to most people, but there's something about you that's bringing out my sweet side," He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," He smiled at me.

We sat there quietly, just enjoying one another's presence and the breeze from the ocean for a few moments. Maybe it was minutes. I didn't keep track of time. But eventually, Seth glanced at his watch and stood up, stretching.

"We've gotta get back. Leah's driving us over to Sam's in ten minutes," He said.

"Oh, okay," I said, standing to follow him. We walked back to the house quickly, and just as we were walking into the driveway, Leah came out, holding the key to the truck.

"In the back, you two," She said. I climbed into the bed of the truck with Seth and sat down gingerly. We pulled into the driveway of a nice house that had a red truck in it's yard. I climbed out of the bed just as Seth jumped over the side.

I followed closely to Seth and grabbed his arm as I nearly fell, being tripped up by a fallen tree branch.

"Whoa Jasper, be careful," He chuckled as I straightened back up.

We were close to the front door when Seth suddenly turned around to look at me, his face suddenly serious.

"Look, there's a girl here named Emily. She's Sam's fiancé. Don't stare," He said.

"Why would I stare?" I asked, and his face turned into a knowing grimace.

"You'll see," He said. We walked to the door, and he held it open for me. The moment I stepped through, my nose was assaulted by the mouth-watering smell of a giant dinner.

"Hi Seth. Who's this?" Someone asked, sticking her head around the corner. I realized that this must have been Emily. She was a beautiful woman, but along one side of her face, she had three long scars running from temple to lips.

"Hey Emily. This is Jasper Whitlock. He just moved into Forks next to Charlie Swan," Seth explained.

"Jasper. That's a nice name," She smiled at me. "Seth, the others are out back. We're eating out there today,"

"Okay, thanks," Seth said, leading me down a hallway and out a back door. When I stepped outside, I looked around, seeing that there were a lot of guys out there, and everyone but me, Seth, and Leah were wearing shirts. I blushed fiercely and muttered something to Seth about needing the bathroom. I hastily turned around and headed back through the door. I nearly ran into Emily, who was carrying a tray of fried chicken on it.

"Oh! Sorry," I said.

"No problem," She smiled at me. "Everything okay?" She asked, and I saw her eyebrows crease.

"Yeah, um, no, I mean..." I trailed off, and she raised an eyebrow. She waved a finger, beckoning me to follow her. I followed her back into the kitchen, and she sat the tray down.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Um, all of those guys out there are shirtless," I started, and I felt my face flush furiously.

She laughed and I looked up embarrassed.

"It's nothing to worry about. They're always like that," She said.

"Oh..." I trailed off, looking down at the floor, finding something interesting about the white tile.

"What else is bothering you?" She asked, stirring something on the stove.

"Well... I'm gay," I said, and I heard her chuckle.

"I know. You're kinda obvious," She said.

"Really?" I asked, and she laughed.

"Yes. The way you hold yourself, the way you talk, and how polite you are. It's kinda obvious," She said.

"Well, that's why I came back in. All those shirtless guys startled me, and I didn't want to make things awkward by staring," I explained.

"Seth would take care of that you know. He's gay; and he likes you," She said.

"What?" I asked, and she laughed.

"Don't look so surprised. But I guess you're allowed to be. He's not nearly as obvious as you," She said.

"You really think he likes me?"

"I don't think. I know. He told everyone yesterday when he came over that he'd met someone interesting. I guess that was you," She joked. "Now come on, you can carry the chicken," She said.

I followed her out to the backyard, and this time I kept my eyes on the ground.

"'Bout time," I heard someone say.

"Cool it Paul," Someone said.

"Sorry. I was talking to Jasper here," Emily explained. I carefully sat the chicken on the table and looked up long enough to find an empty seat next to Seth and someone I didn't know.

"What was that about?" Seth asked me, as I sat next to him.

"Nothing, just ran into her after using the bathroom," I lied a bit.

"So, you must be Jasper. I heard a lot about you yesterday when Seth came over. I'm Jacob Black, by the way," The guy on my right said.

"Emily said that you'd been talking about me," I said, poking Seth's arm, though looking at Jacob. I smiled a bit at him, and then I realized that he was handing me something.

"Chicken?"

"Oh, no," I said, and I saw a look of confusion cross his face, and the table got quiet. I looked up to find everyone looking at me.

"Sorry," I said, blushing.

"Jasper, it's okay," Seth whispered. "Jasper is a vegetarian," Seth explained.

"Wow, so like, you only eat like, fruit and vegetables and shit?" Someone asked.

"Well, the first two. I don't eat shit," I said, and the table erupted in laughter. I felt my body relax, and the dead animal flesh was removed from my presence, though it was replaced by a bowl of salad.

"So, we should introduce ourselves. I'm Sam," Sam said, who was next to Emily. The one that had spoken first earlier, who was sitting next to Leah, was Paul, and next to him was Quil, the one who had asked about my vegetarianism. Next to Jacob was a guy named Embry, and on Seth's other side was a guy named Jared.

The meal passed quickly, and I realized that I liked hanging out with Seth's friends. They were all funny, even though I thought that Paul could take a chill pill. He was so ready to pick a fight with just about anyone.

"Jasper, take a walk with me?" Seth asked.

"Sure," I said, standing quickly. I got a brief image of Emily smiling encouragingly at me.

"What's up?" I asked as we started walking out of earshot from the others.

"I was just wondering if you were enjoying yourself," Seth said.

"Yes. You've got great friends. I just kinda have issues with Paul. He's so angry," I said, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's always been that way," He said, falling quiet. "So, I wanted to ask you something..." He trailed off.

"Yes?" I asked, but we were interrupted by the sound of Emily.

"Hey guys, come on back, I brought out desert," She called. I heard Seth sigh, but we walked back to the table.

I felt my eyes widen and my mouth started watering when I got a glimpse of the desert. A home made apple pie, still nice and warm, and home made vanilla ice cream.

"Yum," I said, and I heard Seth chuckle. I sat next to him and Jacob once more and dug into my pie.

XXX

As we were riding in the back of the truck for Leah to take me home, Seth shuffled closer to me, and I realized that I was suddenly shivering.

"It's cold," I complained, and he smiled. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Um..." He started, and I rolled my eyes at his nervousness.

"Come on, out with it," I said, copying him from earlier.

"Okay," He said, and looked at me. "I'm gay. And I like you. I wanted to know if... if maybe you'd like to go out with me?" He asked.

I felt as though my world had suddenly stopped turning. I glanced up at him, and I smiled largely.

"Yes. I would," I said. He smiled bigger than I could and then wrapped his arm around me. I snuggled into his warmth and sat there, feeling happy.

The ride home ended far too quickly. When we pulled up, I had to force myself to get out of the truck.

"Bye," I said, and he smiled at me. "Text me when you get home, okay? I want to be sure you're safe,"

"I will. Bye," He said, and I held his hand for a few brief seconds before I turned around to go inside. When I shut the door, I was bombarded by James.

"So, how was it?"

"Great. He... He asked me out!" I said excitedly.

"Wonderful!" He said, and I saw my mom and Jack come walking out of the kitchen.

"Really? I'm so happy for you!" My mom said, and I saw her actually give me an approving smile.

"Great," I heard Jack say. When I looked at him though, I saw that he was glaring at me. Uh-oh.

When I headed up the stairs, I went straight to my room. I sat on my bed, and as soon as I did, my phone went off. It was Seth.

_Hey, I'm home._

I sent him a quick _Good._ Before there was a knock on my door. I looked up into Jack's face, who was grimacing at me.

"I'm happy for you, I really am glad that you're happy. I just don't want you flaunting your boyfriend all over the place, okay?" He said.

"In other words, you don't want to see him." I said.

"No. I just don't want to see you like, holding his hand or something.

"Why not? I wouldn't say anything like that if you found a girl," I said, and his eyes hardened.

"Sorry," He said, before backing out of my room, and I sighed. I wasn't alone long before James came in.

"So, you've got a boyfriend!" He said, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Yep," I said, smiling, still filled with euphoria.

"I'm happy for you. I know that Jack is too, deep down. He's just gonna need time to adjust to it,"

"Thanks James,"

"No problem," He said, standing. He reached forward and tussled my hair a bit before exiting my room.

Then I heard my phone go off again.

_Can I come over tomorrow?_ Seth asked.

_Sure, if you wanna be cooped up in my room unless Jack goes out. He doesn't really... approve as much as my parents and James. _I said.

_Great. See you then._ He sent back.

_See you_. I replied, and then laid back on my bed. I couldn't wait for the next day.


	4. Home

**Seth: It's okay, sometimes things don't work like we'd like them too :) And thank you for reading!**

XXX

I actually slept well that night. I dreamed of Seth and I together, doing anything and everything. I even had one very good dream that involved us getting married on a beach. It was great. But then, I woke up at seven o'clock to find James pulling my cover off of my body.

"Dude! It's seven o'clock!" I yelled, giving him my best cranky glare.

"Yeah, and our dad just pulled in," He said, laughing at my face.

"Thanks," I said, quickly standing up to head down the stairs, but I fell back onto my bed as I lost my balance.

"Be careful, would you?" James said, before leaving my room. I stood up a bit slower than the last time and made my way to my door. I headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I could smell the scent of my dad's cigarettes coming. When I opened the door, I found him in my mom's arms and they were kissing. When they let go, I slipped my arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He was one of my closest friends other than James, and I loved him, despite the fact that he was my step dad.

"Hey Jas, what are you doing up this early?" He asked, hugging me back.

"James woke me up," I said, and he laughed.

"How have your last few days been?"

"Great," I said, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Our first night here, a woman named Sue Clearwater and her son Seth were visiting our neighbor, the Forks police chief. They had some left overs and brought us some," Mom said. "Then yesterday, Jas went over to their house and over to meet the guys that he's going to go camping with this weekend, and the guy, Seth, asked him out," Mom explained, and my dad beamed from ear to ear.

"I'm happy for you son," He said, and then raised his eyes to meet James and Jack's, who had just come through the kitchen door. "Alright everyone, off to bed. Come on, we can have a reunion later,"

"Yes sir," James said, but he and Jack gave dad a hug nonetheless.

I climbed the stairs and headed back into my room, and grabbed my phone. I sent Seth a quick:

_If you come over today, do it after two or three. My dad just got home _in a text, and then rolled back over and fell asleep.

XXX

I woke up again around eleven, and I went to check my phone before rolling out of bed. I had two new messages, both from Seth.

_Okay, I'll be there._

And then:

_Hey, I'm sorry, change in plans. I'll be there around six, if that's okay._

I sent back a quick message, telling him that it would be okay for him to come over then, and then I stood up, stretching, and letting out a yawn. I breathed in, and I was suddenly aware that I was ravenous. I smelled frying eggs and bacon downstairs, and I made my way to the kitchen. When I poked my head in, I found my mom making breakfast.

"Good morning sleeping beauty. You're father and brothers are in the living room," She said. I nodded and walked into the living room, where I claimed a spot on the end of the love seat.

"Morning son. Sleep well?" My dad asked.

"Yeah, did you?"

"As well as you can after driving for nearly three days,"

James and Jack laughed, and my dad flipped on the TV. It was a small thing, but a flat screen, nonetheless. He put it on the _Food Network_, something we usually always watched, and then mom called us in for food.

We finished eating, and went back to the living room. Mom sat on the couch, and James moved over to sit with me on the love seat.

I got up to go get my phone, and just as I was sitting down in the love seat again, my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Seth, who had sent me a small heart.

I sent him one back, and then looked up at my parents.

"Hey, Seth wanted to know if it would be okay for him to come over and meet everyone," I said.

"Sure. I've already met him, but it would be nice for the rest of them to," My mom said. I smiled and went back to watching the TV.

About an hour later, I was bored out of my mind and wishing that Seth would come over already. He'd been sending me texts constantly before he said he had to go. Then I remembered that dad was home, and that meant that my paints and easel were here too!

"Dad, where are my paints and easel?" I asked, standing up.

"Out in the car. I didn't get anything out," He answered.

"Great, thanks," I said, heading out the door and to the Escape. I threw the trunk open and found my big paint case and my easel in the very front. I pulled them out and then went back inside, and headed up to my room. I looked around, trying to find the right place for my easel. I knew exactly where. I sat it at the end of my bed right beside the window and facing the bed. I set to work, pulling out my brushes and setting them in their green holding cup, then I looked at my paints, trying to decide which ones to use.

I settled on my paints, deciding to paint a scene of the ocean from where Seth and I sat on our driftwood spot yesterday. I let my brushes slip and slide over the canvas, watching as the scene came to life. I used mostly blues and grays, though I did add some of the darker greens for the ocean water, and I used a mix of colors to make the sort of wet sand color. I used the lightest mix of blue and gray that I could make for the sky, adding in touches of white for the clouds. Finally, I left my scenery to dry and wash my hands. When I checked the time, it was only three o'clock, and I sighed. At least I'd passed the time a bit. I headed down the stairs and asked mom what we were having for lunch.

"I was just thinking about that. What do you want?"

"Whatever is good with me," I said, and she rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen. I fixed myself a small salad and ate it in the kitchen, watching the rain pattering against the window.

"So much for being dry," I commented, and my mom chuckled from where she was at beside the sink.

"You'll get used to it," She said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I used to live in this town a long time ago. I lived here with your grandparents from the time I was born up till we moved away the year after I graduated. Sue and I used to be best friends," She told me.

"What?" I gasped, dropping my fork.

"Yes,"

"So you recognized Sue after all this time?"

"Yeah, I did. Best friends don't forget one another," She said.

"Did you ever miss them?" I asked, and she turned around to face me.

"Miss who?"

"All of your friends here?"

"Yes, all the time. But then I met your father, who gave me my three sons, and your step father, who gave me the loving husband I needed to make this family right,"

"Do you know anyone else that lives here still?"

"Charlie Swan, our neighbor, I knew him and his wife. They got married the year that I left," She answered. "I wonder if their marriage is in good standing," She trailed off, and resumed making the hot dogs for the rest of the family.

I finished my salad and stalked off to my room, where I curled up to finish reading _Drums, Girls, and __Dangerous Pie_. I was honestly starting to wonder what Seth was doing, and I was tempted to text him, but he had told me that he would text me, so I left my phone in my pocket.

XXX

I was jolted awake by the sound of thunder, and I checked my phone, bleary eyed, finding four new messages on it, all from Seth.

_Hey, sorry about that, I'll be over in an hour._

_Hey, did you get my message? I'll be over in thirty minutes._

_Jas? Hey, is everything okay?_

_Jasper, I'm coming over right now. If you don't come to the door when I knock then I'll go home and call you._

I rolled my eyes. He was so cute when he was worried. I sent him back a quick: _Sorry, I fell asleep, I'll be there,_ and headed down the stairs. I yawned and had just reached the bottom floor when there was a knock on the door.

I walked forward, perhaps too quickly in my eagerness to see him, and flew the door open. He was standing there, hair hidden behind a hood, and for some reason, he seemed taller than yesterday. I reached out to him and he pulled me into a hug.

"I was worried," He said.

"I know. I fell asleep, I'm sorry," I answered, putting a hand against his chest to look up at him. His eyes met mine, and I saw him smile gigantically. I felt something odd in my stomach – a kind of pulling, I guess, and we stood there for some time before I heard someone clearing their throat behind us. I jumped, turning around to find Jack standing there, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, Jack. Sorry, this is Seth. Seth, this is my older brother Jack," I said, moving a bit out of their way.

Seth reached forward to shake his hand, and Jack glanced at it for a few seconds before pulling his hand out of his pocket to shake it.

"How do you do?" Jack asked, and I heard a snort from the kitchen, and James appeared a moment later.

"Don't sound so formal," He said.

"Seth, this is my oldest brother James. He and Jack are identical twins, though James is older by five minutes," I said.

"So, you're Mr. Wonderful," James said, shaking his hand.

"Just so you know, I've never called you Mr. Wonderful. That is _his_ doing," I said, and we all laughed, even Jack, who I was surprised to see had warmed up a bit.

"All right, what's all the noise for?" My mom called, coming out of the living room, and then her eyes fell on Seth. "Oh! Well, hello there. How are you?"

"Just fine thanks, ma'am," Seth answered, and I heard my mom laugh.

"Please, I'm just Jenny," She said. "Well, come on then, time for you to meet John," She said.

"John?" Seth whispered into my ear as we walked into the living room.

"My step-dad," I said, and then we walked into the living room. Dad was sitting in the chair, his graying black hair combed back, and his blue eyes gazing in our direction.

"Hi there," He said.

"Dad, this is Seth Clearwater, my boyfriend. Seth, this is my dad, John," I introduced them. I watched dad stand up and move over to shake Seth's hand, and I thought I felt Seth cringe a little.

"So, you're the one that's made Jas smile since I got home," He said, grinning.

"Really? You've been smiling since yesterday?" He asked me, and I blushed, grinning sheepishly.

"More or less," I said, and he grinned down at me.

Mom slipped some movie into the DVD player, and we watched it, or rather everyone but me watched it; I was too nervous sitting there with Seth. I was suddenly aware of the fact that the moment the movie had started, Seth had slipped his left hand into mine and wrapped his right arm around me shoulders, and I was glad for the fact that he and I were on the love seat. My nervous disposition didn't melt away, even though I'd snuggled in as close to him as I could get. I was still nervous as the movie ended, and I realized that I had no clue what we'd watched either. I didn't know why I was feeling this way, it wasn't like I'd never had someone over.

But this was different. Seth wasn't just a friend. He was my _boyfriend_ for crying out loud. I think it was mostly because of the small glares that I'd caught from Jack. That and the fact that I had never had a boyfriend before. Two hours had passed, and it was only eight o'clock. I took Seth up to my room, and decided to show him my painting. He smiled and told me how good he thought it was, which caused my face to heat up of course.

"You're just being nice," I said, and he wrapped his arms around my stomach, since we were both facing the ocean scene.

"Am not. You're genuinely talented," He said.

We stayed up in my room and talked for a while, not realizing the time. It wasn't until my dad came into the hallway and put his face in the door that I realized it was nearly ten thirty.

"Time to go," Dad said, and I heard Seth sigh a bit.

I held his hand till we reached his truck, and he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you," I said, and smiled into his chest.

"I'm gonna miss you more," He whispered.

"Impossible. You actually have friends here," I smiled.

"They're your friends too you know," He said. "They all told me that they like you today."

"Really?"

"Yeah,"

"That's good. I was hoping to make a good impression," I said, looking up at him.

"You made a very nice impression,"

"You're biased,"

"Am not,"

"Are so,"

"Okay, maybe a little bit," He relented, and then he laughed a bit.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about how cute you are when you're trying to get your way," He answered.

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, super cute," He laughed.

"Okay, go home. I'm sure your parents are worried about you," I said, bringing him into another hug.

"I'll go in a few seconds," He said, putting a finger under my chin and raising my eyes towards his. "There's something I wanted to do before I leave."

I watched in slow motion it seemed as he closed the distance between our faces, and I heard my small breath intake right before his lips pressed against mine. They were soft and warm, and yet they were steady. He'd taken me completely by surprise, and my lips were shaking from nerves.

"Whoa," I gasped when he broke it. "That was wonderful." He smiled at me and kissed my nose.

"Now I'll leave," He whispered, and I squeezed his hand once more before turning around and heading to the door.

"Text me when you get there!" I called, and he nodded in response. I closed the door and locked it behind me out of habit, and I looked up into the faces of my family.

"Well then... Soap opera's over people," My mom said, and everyone laughed while I blushed deeply.


	5. Camping

**To all of my readers and reviewers: Thank you so much for reading and liking it so far! I'm happy that you're all enjoying it. :)**

**Also, let me address something that's come to my attention: Seth and Jasper are 17. I'm sorry if I'm making them a bit immature with the whole Nemo thing and the going home early for Seth, I just like a little fluff every now and then, plus I don't think it would be appropriate for Seth to stay over too late this early in the relationship. So, my point: MATURITY COMING UP! :P**

XXX

Another night of wonderful sweet dreams full of Seth passed for me that night. I was just turning over after a good part in the dream where I was laying with Seth alone in a small meadow when my phone went off. I jumped, my heart hammering in my throat. I breathed out heavily and answered the phone groggily.

"Hello?"

"Jas? Hey, didn't I tell you to be ready by ten?" Seth asked, and I groaned at how chipper he sounded.

"No, you didn't. I was still asleep," I grumbled, and I heard him laugh on the other side.

"Well, it's 9:50, and I'll be there in ten with Jacob, Embry, and Quil," He said, and I groaned.

"I don't have anything packed, I haven't eaten, and I look crappy first thing in the morning," I complained.

"We'll pack, you eat and get yourself ready. And you never look crappy. You're beautiful," He told me.

"Whatever," I giggled, and then hung the phone up. I quickly pulled myself out of bed, then flew to the bathroom. I washed my face quickly and combed through my blond hair. I rolled my eyes at the shadows under my eyes and headed down the stairs. If I could eat in the remaining five minutes that I had, maybe I could avoid having Seth, Embry, Jacob, and Quil going through my stuff.

"What are you doing up so early?" Mom asked.

"Camping. Seth forgot to mention getting up early," I grumbled as I poured my cereal and began shoveling it down.

"You're going camping?" Dad asked, and I saw him break into a grin.

"Shut up," I harrumphed and then went back to my cereal. I had just finished when there was a knock at the door.

"That was fast," Dad said, raising an eyebrow while he read the paper.

"Have a good day," Mom called as I went to the door. When I opened it, the first thing that I was aware of was being pulled into a hug by Seth.

"Hey there," I said, smiling up at him.

"Hey," He said, and then released me. I bit my bottom lip and looked around his shoulder at the others.

"Wait out here, I'll go pack," I said, and they all nodded, though Seth followed me in. I rolled my eyes and headed up to my room, him hot on my trail.

Between the two of us, we'd managed to get everything packed up and squared away nicely. I took one last look around my room before my eyes fell on Seth looking at what I was wearing. I glanced down and realized that I hadn't changed out of my pajamas, and I felt my face heat up.

"I guess I'd better change," I said, and his grinned at me, turning into my closet to throw a pair of jeans at me and a red flannel button up shirt, then turned to close the door, so that it was just us able to see.

"No peeking," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"No promises," He said and turned around.

I started getting dressed quickly, but he looked around as I was buttoning the jeans and had yet to button the shirt.

"I told you not to peek," I smiled, and he winked at me.

"Too bad," He said, and closed the few feet between us. I felt his arms wrap around me and my head fell gently onto his chest. I looked up at him, and pressed my lips to his gently. The kiss was soft at first, and then he deepened it, and I gasped. He took my momentary shock to pry my lips open and explore my mouth with his tongue. We stood locked together like that for a few moments before I pulled away to breathe.

"Dammit," I said, feeling the sudden uncomfortable tightness of my jeans.

He chuckled and then grabbed my bags, and started out the room. I quickly buttoned up my shirt and followed him, wondering what we would have done had we been alone...

I went in and said a quick goodbye to mom and dad before heading out of the house and to the truck, where Seth was setting our stuff down. I looked up, suddenly surprised by the fact that it was a blue sky and the sun was shining.

"Wow, it's beautiful out here," I said, mesmerized.

"Come on, there'll be plenty of time to admire the blue in a few minutes," Seth said, grabbing my arm and pulling me over to where the other guys were standing.

"So, Seth, you and Jasper get the back with the bags alright?" Jacob said, before heading around to the driver's side. I watched Embry and Quil get into the front with Jacob, then followed Seth around back, who nestled down in between two of the bags, and pulled me down onto his lap. I cuddled up on his lap as best I could and finally got comfortable. He pulled me forward, closing the distance between our bodies as the truck pulled off.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against mine, and I felt his lips part a bit, and I let mine open too. His tongue ran across my bottom lip and I shuddered, not sure if it was him or the cool wind that was making me shake.

He pulled my body around so that I was facing him, legs sprawled on either side of his body. His lips returned to mine, and I realized that they were much more urgent than they were before. His hungry kisses were starting to make my blood pound furiously, and I was aware that I had a raging boner. I felt his knees slide up behind me, and he let me lay against them, though there was barely enough room between his knees and his torso, and I could feel that he was also hard, if not harder. I returned to kissing him, and I moaned as he pulled my tongue into his mouth and gave a long suck on it.

His hands ran down my sides, and I shuddered, now aware it wasn't from the wind, which I no longer really felt, but from our touching, his body sending vibes through me. This was amazing. I'd never felt so good before, and I'd had plenty of crushes, and this was my first boyfriend... I hoped to God he would be my only one. The truck came to a sudden screeching halt, and there was a loud bang on the truck's window. I jumped up and glanced sheepishly and Embry's face, which had appeared in the window.

"You know, there will be plenty of time for that tonight," He said, and I turned as red as my shirt. He smiled and then turned around and shut the window. I was surprised to see that we'd already made it to our destination. I climbed out and then realized that I was wrong. We were at the edge of a forest, and at the dead end of a road.

I glanced around, and realized that there wasn't a trail. Uh-oh.

"No trail?" I whimpered, and Seth laughed at my face.

"No, no trail, but the campsite is only about a mile away from here," He answered, and I grumbled to myself, slinging my bag over my shoulder. As we started our ascent into the woods, I caught a word that I didn't recognize during a conversation between Jacob and Quil: Imprint.

"What's that?" I asked, and Jacob looked over at me sheepishly.

"What's what?" He asked.

"Imprint?"

"Oh, that's what we call a marriage amongst our people, because we marry for life," Quil answered, but he said it almost too quickly, and my eyes narrowed. I had heard that word only once before, and as I kept dwelling on it, I realized that I remembered what it was. It was a term used in biology, and it meant when a creature forms a bond with another creature, like how human babies have a huge bond with their mothers. Some also said that the term Imprint referred to soul mates.

I kept to myself the rest of the way up the mountain, and I only complained once, when I tripped and scraped up my left hand. Finally, we reached our destination, and I was amazed by what I saw. It was the meadow from my dream. My mouth opened in a small 'o', and I stood that way for a few seconds before I realized that Seth was tugging on my hand, and I shook my head, and looked at him.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah... I just had a dream about us in a meadow just like this last night," I said, and he chuckled.

"Come on, I think we're getting a tent to ourselves," Seth said, and I realized that everyone else was already there, and all but two tents had been set up, one commandeered by Embry, Quil, and Jacob, and the other, I assumed, was for us.

"Okay, time to fess up. I have never been camping but once in my life. You'll have to set this thing up," I said, poking at the canvas with the toe of my shoe. Seth started laughing and then shook his head.

"Fine, hey Jake, come help me set this thing up!" He called over to Jacob, who left Embry and Quil to it. They had the tent up in five, something I wouldn't have been able to accomplish.

I threw my bag into the tent, and joined the others, who had started a small camp fire and circled around it. I made my way over to Seth, who grabbed my hand and pulled me down next to him on the tree he'd sat at.

XXX

That night had been fun. We'd ate s'mores, hot dogs, and then Sam pulled out a guitar and started strumming. The conversations faded away from my awareness after a while when the sun had started to go down, and I was vaguely aware of anything, Sam's guitar lulling me to sleep.

I didn't know how long I'd been asleep, but I woke up, leaning against Seth's body, his arms wrapped around my chest.

"Look who decided to join the world of the living," Seth smiled down at me.

"What time is it?" I yawned, and he chuckled.

"Sometime after midnight," He said. "Come on, let's go to the tent."

I let him basically carry me to the tent, and the moment we were inside, and the tent zipped up, his lips were on mine, sweet and caressing. Any thoughts I had of sleep vanished from my mind as he started kissing down my neck.

I let my hands tangle into the back of his hair and held him to my throat. His tongue shot out and licked teasing lines down the sensitive skin and I moaned.

"Shh, they'll here us," Seth whispered, and I let my moan bottom out into a quiet whine.

His hand slipped up under my shirt and started feeling the skin, and I sighed in pleasure, my head falling back onto the ground.

I reached up and nudged the shirt off of his body, and I felt him flip us over so that I was on top of him, my thighs spread across either side of his hips.

I started kissing down his jaw and neck and I heard him take in a sharp breath. Under my ass I could feel his cock stiffening, and I smiled as I continued kissing him. I moved a bit and started kissing down his chest, and I reached his stomach, my hands starting to unbutton his pants. I finally got the button undone and reached inside, rubbing his hard on through his underwear. I bit my lip a bit and then looked up at him. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open slightly. I smiled and pulled his jeans and underwear down below his waist enough to reveal his member, and I realized that I wasn't sure if I was ready for this.

"Jas?" He asked, and looked up at him.

"I don't know if I'm ready," I said, and he smiled, taking my hand.

"Jasper, I love you. I'm not going to leave you unless you ask me to leave you. I promise," He said, and I felt my heart speed up. He'd said _I love you_. And here I was not saying anything. _Speak, dammit!_ I told myself, and suddenly everything unfroze.

"I love you too," I said, and kissed him. He pulled me onto my back again, and started to undo my jeans. His hands were gentle and teasing, and I groaned at his touch.

His hand reached into my boxers and grabbed my hard cock, pumping it and pulling it, and I moaned quietly from pleasure. I was only aware of what he was doing when he did it. I jumped slightly as his lips parted around my head and he gave a long hard squeeze with his mouth.

"Fuck!" I hissed, and my fingers pulled on his hair. He kept it up for a few moments, and I knew that if he kept doing that, I'd be at my wits ends. I pulled him away from me within seconds, and kissed him, and I moved myself so that my face was level with his waist.

"My turn to return the favor," I whispered, and I parted my lips to take him into my warm mouth.

I took him in as much as I could, but he was very big, and I couldn't go all the way down. He pulled me away after a few moments, cursing from the built up tension and I knew that if we went at it, I'd come in the matter of a few seconds.

I did just that, as his hand wrapped around my throbbing dick, and I helped get him off with my own hand. He reached into his pack and pulled out some napkins to clean us up, and I sat back and smiled.

"I love you," I whispered, and he wrapped his arms around my stomach.

"I love you too," He answered. I fell asleep that way, with my back towards him, and his arms wrapped around me protectively.

XXX

I woke up the next morning in the same position that I fell asleep in. I turned over to find myself staring into Seth's wide awake eyes.

"Morning," I said, smiling.

"Good morning beautiful," He said, kissing my forehead.

"Thank you. For last night," I said, and I realized that I meant it. Last night had been the best night of my life, next to escaping my biological father.

"You're welcome. You need to expect many more of those," He smiled down at me.

"Really?" I asked, and I mentally rolled my eyes at how hopeful I sounded.

"Yes really," He laughed. I snuggled into his chest, loving his warmth. I realized there suddenly that while the air was cold, Seth was burning hot.

"Seth, are you okay? You're very hot," I said, reaching up to feel his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He shrugged, and my lips pursed. I was now worried about him.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked, looking around. It was light inside the tent now, and I knew that I had a tendency to sleep in late.

"I've only been up for about thirty minutes, and it's only ten thirty," He smirked.

"So you just laid here holding me?" I asked, kind of flattered.

"Well yeah. You talk in your sleep you know," He said, and I blushed, biting my lip.

"Uh-oh,"

"You just said my name a lot," He smiled down at me.

"Well I did dream about you last night," I said, and I blushed again.

"I dreamed about you too," He said. "You know, you're adorable when you blush."

"Thanks," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, the others have been up for about an hour," He said, and I could hear the unwillingness in his voice.

"A whole hour?" I asked. "And you didn't go out?"

"I told you I love you," He said. "Besides, I wanted to be here when you woke up."

"Well here we are. And close to being naked," I added, realizing that the only bits of clothing we were wearing were our underwear.

"And I have a raging boner. But I don't think that the others would like to wake up to the sound of our guilty pleasures," He laughed.

"Whoever said anything about guilty?" I asked, returning the grin.

"Come on, let's get some food. I smell bacon," Seth said, and kissed my forehead, before grabbing my shirt from behind my head and handing it to me.

"Love you too," I muttered, slipping the fabric around my body, suddenly wishing that I hadn't left his warm side.

"Hey, I do love you," He said, putting his shirt on too.

"I know. But you're hungry," I said, and then his stomach growled, and I chuckled. He unzipped the tent, and I followed him out.


	6. Spending the Night

**I express my continued gratification that everyone is enjoying my writing! More to come :)**

**Furthermore: I have re-written a part of Chapter Four, Home. Please go and read the edit :D**

XXX

I ate some eggs, but avoided the bacon. Just because I was vegetarian didn't mean that I minded eating an egg. It was only an egg after all. It wasn't alive... yet. They were nice and creamy, though if I had been at home, I would have added some cheese. The lovely blue sky that we'd had the day before had disappeared quite fast, and we were once more under the cover of gray clouds and rain.

I watched from a distance as Seth and Jacob dismantled our tent and handed it over to Sam, who slipped it into a bag. The rest of them were all a whirl around the place, people going in different directions. I decided to not get involved with the madness, and sat at the tree that I'd fallen asleep on Seth.

I leaned back against the tree, imagining that it was Seth. I had no idea what I'd done to deserve him. He was so kind to me, and so gorgeous at that. And here I was, so plain, and nothing special. I watched him joking with Quil and Embry and Jacob, and then I started to wonder what he had done before he'd met me. I wondered if he'd ever been with anyone before me, and I knew that he probably had; with his personality and his looks, I would be surprised if he hadn't.

I absentmindedly started shredding some of the fallen leaves near the tree, and jumped slightly when I realized that Seth was trying to get my attention by yelling at me from across the clearing.

"Jas! Come on, we're heading out," He called.

I stood up and walked over to him, but when we started, I kept my distance a bit, falling back so that I was walking with Jacob, who seemed to be the one closest to him. Seth didn't seem to notice, joking with Embry and Quil.

"So, you and Seth," Jacob stated, and I nodded, though slightly glum. I was still worried about any competition that I might have in Forks and down in La Push.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked, and I realized that my depressing mood must be spreading. I sighed.

"Yeah, just worried," I said.

"About what?"

"Well, it's just, Seth is so... well, he's wonderful. I can't see why he would want to be with someone so plain as me, and I'm sure he's been with plenty of people before I showed up," I said, realizing how whiny I sounded the moment it left my lips.

"Well, you're blind. He loves you for who you are. And you're also wrong, he's never been with anyone before," Jacob answered, and I felt my mood lift and I stared, wide-eyed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you should talk to him if you feel bad about it," Jacob said, and then called over to Embry and Quil to come back to him. I hurried up to catch up with Seth, my hand slipping into his.

I felt my heart racing at the joy of knowing that I had no competition. He turned to look at me, his black hair whipping about and his brown eyes warm.

"Hey there. Did you have fun?" He asked, and I was momentarily caught of guard by the sight of the sun peeking through the trees and outlining his face so that he seemed to be in a small halo of light surrounding him. A small smile slipped onto my lips.

"Yes, I had loads of fun," I said, and I meant it. The experience had been much better than what I had been expecting.

"I'm really glad," He said, and I saw a small light in his eyes. I continued walking beside him, and I felt his hand tighten slightly around mine. I could feel his pulse, steady, but still relatively fast. I wondered what could make his heart beat that fast, even though we were walking. The memories of what had occurred the night before had me blushing, my heart rate sped up and I felt my breathing speed up. The increased functions of my body must have registered with Seth, because he looked at me, concern spreading across his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, genuine concern coloring his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about last night," I answered, and my face was warm from blushing.

"I was too," He said, and his thumb rubbed gently over the back of my hand.

"I was hoping that I would get to be with you more before I start school Monday,"

"Perhaps you could come over to my house for the night, or I could stay over at yours," He suggested, and I felt slight concern about trying to have him over at my house for a longer period than four or five hours, and sleeping nonetheless. Jack would have a fit, his small case of homophobia was evident enough.

The concern ebbed away as I thought of it more. Jack would have to get over it. Seth was a part of my life, whether he wanted to accept that or not. The walking cleared my consciousness about it by the time we reached the vehicles, and I climbed in quickly after Seth into the back of the truck, nestling myself on his lap again.

We weren't so quick to actually do anything except for cuddle for the first few minutes, and I loved it. His body was so big and warm, and I seemed to fit in his arms perfectly. I traced small circles around his bicep with a finger, while holding his hand with my other hand.

He leaned down then, hair falling forward so that the rest of the world was suddenly darkened, leaving only us to know what we were up to. He eagerly closed the distance between the two of us, pressing his lips against mine. I shuddered once as his tongue traced a line along my bottom lip, and then I opened my mouth to allow our tongues to meet.

I continued to kiss him, breathing heavily, and I repositioned myself so that I was crouching on his lap, my toes facing the back of the truck. His breath was sweet for someone that had just had bacon and eggs not too long ago, and smelled faintly of mint.

I tried remembering if I'd seen him chewing any gum, but I forgot it as his hands reached around my body, moving in a slow caressing line down my back, sending chills up my spine and along the rest of my body. His thumbs slipped into my belt loops and the rest of his hands cupped around my ass on either side, and he squeezed tightly. I jumped and gasped inward, feeling myself getting aroused very quickly.

My hands reached down and began rubbing along the front of his jeans, and I smiled to myself as I felt how hard he was, slightly glad that I wasn't the only one becoming horny as hell.

We came to a stop just as quickly as we'd started, the truck pulling to a stop outside of my house.

"I'll call you later, when I know if you can come over or if I can go to your house," I said, my voice full of slight disappointment that we'd only made out.

"Okay. Love you Jas," He answered, the tone to his voice told me that this wasn't over yet. I readjusted my pants to hide my boner, which had started to ache for release.

"I love you too Seth," I told him, and watched as they pulled away.

XXX

I was glad nearly an hour later when my mom and dad decided that Seth could come spend the night. I ran up to my room, full of excitement. My heart was racing when he answered and I told him the good news. I heard him laugh at my jubilant tone, and he told me that he'd be over in about an hour. It was nearly two o'clock as it was, and I wondered what we would do for the entire day.

He came over, armed with just a over night bag. I pulled him up to my room and did nothing but lounge around, talking and laughing about nothing and everything. I was having the time of my life, just getting to be with him. I wondered if he was having as much fun as I was, and each of his smiles and the warmth in his brown eyes confirmed that he was. After dinner, he asked me to show him some of my painting skills.

"Please? I want to see how you work,"

"Fine, but you'd better not laugh. And stay quiet," I instructed. He sat cross legged on my bed and gazed quietly out of my window. I eyed him for a few moments, the fading sunset light through the clouds hitting him, making his black hair appear brown. There was a spark in his eye, and I was determined to capture this moment.

I set to work, pulling my brushes and colors across the canvas, watching as my painting came to life. I'd finished it within an hour and a half, which surprised me. Usually, the painting took much longer, especially since it mostly came from my memories rather than an actual subject. I felt pride in my portrait of him. I'd used oranges and reds against him to seem like he were surrounded by the sunset still. I went to wash my hands, and when I came back, my heart started thudding quickly as I saw Seth looking at the painting.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked, and I could detect the hint of nervousness in my voice, and I was sure that he could too.

"I think it's gorgeous. You're very talented," He said, his face ablaze with praise.

Finally, night had fallen, my parents and brothers retired to their rooms, and Seth and I alone in my room. He held my hand as I sat next to him, but he soon pulled me from where I sat opposite him and onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me. He bit my lip playfully, and I licked his bottom lip in response.

He pulled my tongue into his mouth and gave a long suck on it, and I pulled away long enough to gasp for air. He pulled me down onto the bed next to him, and started running his hands up and down my body. I moaned quietly, and moved my hands towards his quickly stiffening cock. I reached into his sweatpants and grabbed him, quickly surfacing a moan from him.

I began stroking him, and it wasn't long before his hands were on me, my mouth on his. I was very warm, and he felt like a furnace, but I loved the feel of his body. I started kissing his neck and down his chest, and finally around his waist line.

I pulled his cock quickly out from under the fabric and opened my lips around his head. I gave two or three really hard pulls on the head before going deeper, getting almost half of him into my mouth before I could go no further. I pulled back and licked down his shaft and back up, before returning my mouth to suck. About three minutes longer, Seth attempted to pull back, and I figured he was close to coming. I held up a finger, and continued to suck until my mouth was suddenly full of warm slightly salty cum, and I swallowed.

I heard Seth groan in pleasure and then I was suddenly on my back. He leaned over me, his beautiful black hair falling over in waves over my stomach. I moaned as I felt my ragingly hard cock slip into his hot mouth. He pulled and sucked eagerly, and I nearly shouted when I came, shooting my load into his mouth.

He came back up to me, pressing his lips against mine, and I felt both of our hearts racing through the contact. My breath came in short gasps and I had to break the kiss quickly, trying to catch my breath. I smiled gigantically at him, his eyes shining.

I felt his hand wrap around mine and I looked into his eyes, savoring the moment. But then it was ruined as I yawned, and he started laughing at me.

"Tired already?" He asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"It's fine,"

"I love you,"

"I love you more," He said, wrapping his arms around me.

I felt warm and safe in his arms, my head resting on his chest. The beat of his heart was comforting, sort of like music to me. One of his hands came up and started running through my hair, and within moments, I was out like a light.

XXX

I had my usual dreams about myself and Seth, but then one of them became a nightmare.

In it, I was walking with Seth, his hand in mind, and it was a sunny day, oddly enough for the small town of Forks. Everything was too quiet though. Even the sounds of our footsteps weren't making a sound. It was at the moment that I realized it was too quiet that I noticed that Seth had pulled away from me, looking at me in horror. I glanced down at myself, but I saw no difference in myself or my body. He started backing away slowly and then turned into a full on run. I lurched out to grab for him, but then the sound of a car horn blared loudly, shattering the silence. I looked up in just enough time to see the bright glare of sunlight off of the metal of the car and then everything went black.

I woke up with my back to Seth, his arms wrapped around me, just like when we were camping. It was still late in the night, and the clock was blinking 2:30. My breath was labored, my skin moist with sweat. My blond hair was sticking to my neck, and my heart was racing. I groaned as I stretched slightly, yawned, and carefully unwrapped myself from Seth's warm embrace.

My muscles protested against my movement, having to actually work after being so warm and still for a long time. I carefully walked to the bathroom and washed some cool water on my face, relishing the refreshing feeling. There were dark shadows under the eyes of my reflection in the mirror. I wondered why, but shrugged it off, assuming that it was just due to the late hour and the nightmare.

When I returned to my room, I found Seth sitting upright against my bed frame, his eyes watching the door for my return. I crossed over to him, letting him pull me to his side. I snuggled back into the warmth as he whispered against my ear.

"Are you okay?" His tone concerned.

"Of course. Just needed the bathroom," I yawned, nestled my face into his chest, and I quickly fell back into the rhythm of a dreamless sleep.

The thing that woke me up the next morning was the fact that I was so cold. The rain was pattering heavily against the window, the sound sending chills down my spine. I reached around me for the covers, and discovered the other side of the bed empty, and cool. My mind wandered a bit, trying to think of where Seth was, before I heard the distant sound of the TV in the living room. I yawned quietly and pulled myself into a sitting position, crossing my legs, just as the door to my room swung open to reveal Seth, holding a tray of food.

"What's this?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Breakfast in bed," He smiled at me.

"Wow, really? Thank you," I grinned, reaching for the small bowl of fresh fruit. He smacked my hand away though, and I felt my eyebrows crease. I frowned slightly, and looked at him, blinking. Then his hand reached down and picked up a grape and a small slice of orange, quickly bringing it up to my mouth and popping the pieces of fruit into my open mouth.

"There," He said laughing at my small expression of shock. "Now you can eat." I chewed my fruit thoughtfully before reaching down and tearing off a piece of raisin bagel. I smiled and lifted it up to his mouth, and he got what I was doing quicker than I would have.

"There, now you can eat," I said, repeating his words from earlier.

The morning passed far too quickly for my liking, and before we knew it, Seth was getting ready to leave.

"I'll pick you up for school in the morning," Seth said, bending down to kiss me goodbye as we stood at his truck.

"But you go to school on the reservation," I protested.

"Yeah, and we start an hour after your school does," He grinned, defeating any argument I had prepared to use.

"Fine. I love you," I told him as he climbed into his truck.

"I love you more," He answered.

"Not a chance," I laughed, but serious at the same time.

"Ooh, scary," He said, before pecking my lips again and starting the truck. I watched as he backed the truck out of the drive and then headed back into the house, suddenly filled with worry. After all, it was the middle of my senior year, and I was starting in a _new school._ I shuddered at the thought before joining my family for a small supper.

**Sorry for the crap ending guys. Actually, I'm not happy with this chapter for the most part, but I wrote it while worrying my butt off, so please cut me some slack :P**


	7. School

**A/N: Sorry this one took so long guys. Here you are.**

XXX

I spent the night tossing and turning, my mind racing in a million different directions. What was I supposed to do going to a new school, in a new state, in the middle of my last year? My brothers were lucky; they were moving back to Texas within the next month to go the university in Dallas. When the alarm clock went off the next morning at six, I felt like the walking dead.

As I pulled myself awake, I glared at my reflection in the mirror. These dark circles would most definitely kill any first impression that I was hoping to make at the school. I headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where I found my mom sipping some orange juice and reading the news paper. I grabbed some cereal and sat down opposite her at the table.

"What do you want?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, but not lifting her gaze from the paper.

"How do you know I was going to ask you anything?" I demanded, scooping some frosted flakes into my spoon and letting them plop back into the bowl, and she chuckled.

"I've been a mother for eighteen years, and if you add all of your ages, it's been a total of fifty three years. And you wonder why I'm gray headed. I know when you want something," She said, and took a sip of her orange juice.

I eyed her thoughtfully. It was true, my mom had aged quite a bit raising us. When I thought of her, I still saw the youthful, blond-haired, blue-eyed soccer mom that used to lug my brothers and their teammates to and from practices and games and other things. Now that I was actually looking at her, I saw that she was developing some small wrinkles, mostly from smiling, and her hair had streaks of gray sticking out amongst the blond. It must have been hard on her, raising the three of us.

"So, what do you want?" She asked again, breaking me out of my reverie.

"See these shadows under my eyes?" I asked, and I could feel her grin, even though I was glancing down at my breakfast, which had suddenly become unappetizing.

"Go get my stuff. I'll be up there in a few after you get dressed," She instructed. I finished my cereal, or rather, what little bit I could stuff down my throat, and then headed up the stairs. I picked out a pair of black jeans, a light blue shirt, and a white zip up hoody to wear for the day and then headed to the bathroom. Mom had beat me there and already had a brush up with some small amounts of foundation. Luckily, she and I shared the same skin tone, so she knew just how much to use to cover up my sleeplessness.

After she covered me up, she straightened my collar and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"I love you," She said, and gave me a rare smile. The one that reached up to her eyes, the one that made her eyes shine with pride.

"I love you too mom," I said, and I gave her back my smile. It was a small, crooked and slightly insecure one, but it was always my most honest.

Nearly a half an hour had passed since I'd woken up, and I was only sitting in the kitchen listening to the rain on the windows and outside for ten minutes when I heard the horn honking outside. I called a quick goodbye to mom and headed out the door and into the rain.

I was nice and damp by the time I'd reached the truck. I gave one look at Seth that said 'kill me' before he started to back up, shaking his head and laughing. He was wearing his school's uniform, a dark blue blazer over a white button up and a red tie, black slacks, and it looked like a pair of black dress shoes, though I couldn't be certain. He looked absolutely gorgeous in uniform though, and I didn't realize I was staring with my mouth slightly open till we'd pulled up to a red light and he kissed me to shock me back into reality.

"Hey, where'd you go off to Mr. Daydreamer?" He asked, laughing at my expression.

"Sorry. I guess I was just preoccupied by how handsome you look," I said smugly.

"Well, don't get too used to it. I only wear this when I have to go to school,"

"Awe, but you're gorgeous,"

"Whatever," He laughed. "You look nice. I might have to go beating guys with a stick to keep them off you,"

"Whatever, no one is gonna look twice at me,"

"Don't be so pessimistic,"

"Don't be so jealous,"

"Me? Jealous? Never!" He spluttered, making a hard turn. As I recovered I glanced at him, noticing the red spreading on his face.

"Please, you're jealous, and you know it," I laughed.

"Maybe a little," He muttered, and I smiled, looking out of the window. I was surprised to suddenly see that the rain had stopped. There was a single ray of sunshine beaming through the clouds, and I was mesmerized by the rare sight. It vanished just as quickly as it had come, though leaving a merciful stop to the rain. I saw it as hope, a silver lining. Today wasn't going to be that bad. There was no way it could.

We pulled into the school parking lot a few moments later, and even though I'd told myself that I would be fine a hundred times, I suddenly felt my stomach tighten, and my breathing start to get faster. My heart was beating very fast, and I could feel the small panic attack building up. I felt Seth stiffen a tiny bit, and I looked up at him to find him glaring out of his windshield towards someone across the lot.

I followed his gaze to an exceptionally beautiful blond headed woman. She was gorgeous, and she wasn't looking towards us.

"Do you know her?" I asked, barely above a whisper, unable to speak louder through my nervousness and his apprehension.

"You could say that," Seth said looking back at me, and his eyebrows creased with worry. He must have noticed my emotions were in turmoil at that moment, because he pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. There in his warmth, his heartbeat thudding, I felt safe, and I was able to help myself relax.

"You're gonna be fine babe," He said, stroking my hair.

"I know. I'm just nervous. And scared," I admitted, and he chuckled.

"Alright, time to go. Your school bell rings in fifteen,"

"Fine. Love you," I said, reaching around to open the door. I'd just flipped the handle when I felt his hands wrap around my face, and he brought his lips down to mine. I melted for a few moments as he held us there, lips pressed against one another, and then he released me, my face blushing darkly.

"I love you too," He smiled encouragingly at me.

I watched him pull out of the parking lot and then turned to face the little brick buildings that made up Forks High School. I wasn't looking up at the buildings for long though, because I heard someone laughing darkly behind me. I turned around just quick enough to see three really tall guys, one red-headed, one with black hair, and the other with blond hair. They were wearing looks of slight disgust on their faces, and I clenched my jaw tightly together, willing myself to move forward.

They must have seen Seth kiss me, because I heard one of them speak up as I started towards the building that said "office" on it's sign.

"So, we've got a little fag on campus do we? Who was that, your fucking boyfriend?" He jeered, and I kept my head down, working on getting to the office building. Why did Seth have to have let me out so far away from the office? It was about twenty feet away, and I heard footsteps behind me. My heart started thudding quickly in my chest and I readjusted my jacket, hoping to seem casual. It wasn't till I felt one of them grab my shoulder that I felt my body react without my consent.

"Please don't hurt me," I heard my voice beg, and it sounded very small and tiny. I kept my eyes down cast, but the one with the black hair used one finger to force my eyes upward and into his. They were dark, a murky brown color that I didn't like the sight of. I felt as though he was simply doing this to torture me, and his eyes relayed that very message to me.

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you. It's only your first day. What will the school bullies look like, messing around with the new kid on his first day?" He said, and it was the guy that had spoken earlier. "What grade are you in?"

"I'm a senior," I answered immediately. I wasn't going to give him any reason to hurt me.

"Well, what do you know. So are we. I think we'll be great friends," He smiled evilly at me. Then he released me and the other two started howling with laughter as they walked away. I took a shaky breath and then returned to the matter at hand: getting to the office.

When I walked in, I felt the heat from the vents on my cold skin and I shuttered at the thought of what had made me go so cold. I walked to the front and told the woman who I was, and she handed me a schedule and then told me to get to class.

My first class of the day was English, and I smiled. That was something I could deal with. I found the class just as the bell rang, and I thanked my lucky stars that I had just managed to be inside of the class room. The teacher, Mrs. Hayes, had long sweeping gray hair and intelligent green eyes behind a pair of rimless glasses. She nodded at me, handed me a book, _Romeo and Juliet_ and then sent me to the back of the class. I didn't pay any attention to what she was saying. I'd covered Shakespeare back in tenth grade in Dallas.

My second block was Calculus, and I moaned. I hated math with a burning passion. I walked around aimlessly until I finally found the class room, about a minute after the bell. Mr. Hash was a tall balding man with glasses and a checkered vest over his dress shirt. He glared at me as I walked in, a sheepish small smile on my face. He handed me a book and then sent me to the first row, front seat, which was the only vacant one. I looked around the class long enough to realize that I was in the same class as the black-haired guy from earlier, and kept my eyes glued to the front of the room, actually trying to learn to keep my mind off of what was bound to be waiting for me.

My third course was Anatomy, something that I didn't care for, but I wasn't bad at either. Ms. Allison, a short woman with short black hair and purple glasses smiled at me, even though I was a few minutes late. She handed me a copy of the warm up and then sat me at a table with two girls and a guy. The girls were annoying me, and I was thankful that I was sitting next to the guy on the end of the table. The girls were popping bubblegum and talking loudly, and I glared at my warm up as their voices, which had that annoying cheer-leader tone to it, made its way towards me.

"... He's from Texas. Dallas I heard,"

"No way! I wonder if he has an accent?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"No, you ask him!"

"Maybe Jay will ask him,"

"No," Said the guy next to me. His voice was calm, but amused. "I'm not gonna ask him just because you're too idiotic to talk to him yourself."

They gave him a shocked look at then resumed talking to each other, and I glanced up at this Jay guy. He had long brown hair swept over his right eye and the other side behind his ear.

"Thanks," I said quietly, and he nodded once, smiling at me. I suddenly realized that I'd had the last three classes with him, and he must've noticed too, because he turned to look at me.

"So, how's it going for your first day?"

"Um, well I've already been targeted by the three bullies, and Calculus is a bitch," I said, and he laughed lightly.

"Dan, Rob, and Keenan, Forks' resident bullies. Don't worry about them. Just avoid being near them before and after school, you'll be fine,"

"Thanks,"

The rest of the class passed quickly and then it was time for my fourth block, European History. Jay walked with me to class, and I was glad that I'd found a friend, and one that was in all of my classes no doubt. Mr. Dayle was a short, rotund man with little hair. I received my history book from him and took a seat beside Jay, anxiously waiting for lunch. When the bell rang, I quickly rose out of my seat, waiting for Jay to join me. When we started out into the hall, I took a step forward without realizing that someone had stuck their foot out to trip me. As I fell forward, the person that I'd landed on let out a small grunt and when I gained my composure to look up, I found myself staring into the murky brown eyes of Dan, the bully.

"Get the hell off of me faggot!" He snarled, and I scrambled to get away from him. I'd just barely managed to get out of his way as he kicked forward to catch my legs, and I grabbed my books quickly, heading down the hall with Jay as fast as my legs could carry me while walking.

"Holy shit!" I gasped when we reached the cafeteria. "That was close," I sighed, shaking my head. I actually didn't have much of an appetite. I was glad that the day was coming to an end, and I couldn't wait to see Seth. I really needed his comfort.

"You've got to pay attention to what you're doing," Jay scolded me as we sat down for lunch. "You'll definitely be on their hit list now."

"He tripped me," I defended myself.

"I know he did. But he'll have the whole school believing that you tried to rape him in the hall,"

"But... wait, what?"

"Don't you know how obvious you are?" He joked, and I felt my face flushing. "It's fine, as long as you're with me, they won't touch you. My dad's got their father's on lock and key, if you know what I mean."

"Not really," I said, and he rolled his eyes, tucking some hair back behind his ear.

"My dad's a cop," He told me.

Oh. Now it made sense. I started laughing quietly at my own joke. We sat talking for the rest of lunch till the bell rang, and then Jay walked with me to Spanish, where I sat down without having to give the teacher my information. It was a substitute, and Jay told me that the usual teacher was a woman, and not this old guy that was about to fall asleep in his chair.

When the day finally ended, I walked to the parking lot with Jay and was talking to him just as a police cruiser pulled up to the curb. When Jay opened the door and I saw his father, I gasped at the similarity between the two of them. They looked so much alike, it was sort of disorienting.

"See you tomorrow," Jay said before closing the door. I waved briefly and then looked around. I felt someone touch my shoulder gently and I nearly jumped out of my skin, expecting to find myself looking at Dan, Rob, or Keenan. Instead, I found myself glaring at a shocked Seth, his hands up in surrender.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?" He asked, his face concerned.

"Oh thank God it's you!" I gasped, pushing my way into his embrace.

On the ride home, above the sound of the rain hitting against the truck, I told him about my day, including my spats with the bullies. His knuckles tightened against the steering wheel when I told him about falling on top of Dan, and the insults thrown at me after.

"I'd ought to go give him a lesson," Seth grumbled.

"No, you'll just make things worse," I scolded.

"If they hurt you..." Seth trailed off and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"They won't. The guy that I was saying goodbye to with the cop car? Yeah, that's his dad," I said.

"But you're not a cop's kid," Seth insisted.

"Oh shut up," I said, giving up. It was useless trying to argue with him. "Why are you so stubborn?" I asked as we pulled up to my house.

"Because I'm in a relationship with you," He teased, and I rolled my eyes. "Do you have a lot of homework?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Good. I wanna go to he beach," I said, and he shook his head again, and I frowned.

"I can't. I promised some friends from school I'd hang out," He said.

"Okay... can we go tomorrow?" I asked, and he smiled.

"Sure we can go tomorrow. We'll go to our spot," He said. I smiled as I pictured the intertwined driftwood and then leaned over to kiss him.

"I love you," I whispered and he kissed me back.

"I love you more," He answered.

"Nope," I said, smiling.

"I'll call you tonight," He told me, and I smiled. It wasn't until he left and I went inside that I realized how lonely I was. Everyone else was out, and my mom had left me a note saying that she'd be over at Sue's. I sighed at headed into the living room. I would bore myself with the TV for some time while I waited for Seth to call me.


	8. Nightmare

Seth didn't call me. I wondered why as I paced my room, wondering what was holding him up. It was already ten thirty, and I was worried. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, gazing about the room, my eyes landing on my phone. Should I call? He might have just forgotten. But then, if he was busy, I didn't want to bother him. I finally decided to not worry about it, and that he would probably call in the morning, especially if he wanted to take me to school.

I didn't sleep well, and when I woke up, I checked my phone, just to find nothing. I got ready slower than the day before, deciding to wear a blue and black plaid collar shirt and a pair of khaki slacks. I headed down the stairs to eat my breakfast and stayed in the kitchen for nearly a half hour waiting for some sign of Seth showing up. When the phone didn't ring and his truck didn't pull into the parking lot, my mind started worrying. I wondered if he was okay, if everything between us was okay.

I lingered on these thoughts while I drove the Escape to school – my dad had the day off from work for once, and had decided to stay at home. When I pulled into the parking lot, I found a spot in the very back of the lot, realizing that I was about five minutes before the bell was due to ring. I ran out quickly into the rain, icy bullets grazing across my face, heading towards English.

I slid into my seat just as the bell rang, and sighed with relief. I glanced up just long enough to find Jay raising an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged, pulling out _Romeo and Juliet_.

Neither of us really had the chance to speak to each other until lunch.

"So, what's wrong with you today?" Jay asked, taking me off guard as I picked at my salad.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Somethings different. You're worried and you haven't looked the least bit relaxed since you got to English this morning," He told me, his eyes concerned.

"It's nothing," I said, shrugging it off. The last thing I wanted was for Jay to be concerned about me.

But eyes widened slightly as his hand reached across the table and rested on the back of mine.

"Jasper, you can talk to me, okay?" He said, watching my reaction. I very slowly slid my hand out from under his and returned to my salad. "I'm sorry." He said, looking down. I realized that the both of us were blushing furiously, and I was thankful that no one was paying either of us attention.

"It's okay. It's just I have a boyfriend. And I haven't heard from him since yesterday after school, and he told me he would call me last night. But he didn't," I said. I watched Jay's face cautiously, and though he tried hard to mask it, I saw his face drop a mile when I said the word 'boyfriend'.

"They guy you hugged yesterday?" He asked, and I nodded. I heard him give the smallest sigh. He was disappointed. I hated making him feel that way. Perhaps I could cheer him up, but how on earth was I supposed to do that? I didn't even really know him, and here he was, upset that I already had a boyfriend. Wait, he was disappointed, which meant he was more than likely gay. If he wasn't gay, he was at least bi.

"So, do you have any idea why he wouldn't have called?" He asked, and I was slightly glad that he wasn't making a scene out of this.

"I have no idea, but it's got me worried. I can't help but think this has to do with me," I said, and he shook his head, eyes narrowing.

"No, I think it's probably something at his house or something. Maybe you should try to go see him this afternoon when school lets out?"

"That's a good idea. I'll do that," I said, and felt our conversation switch very quickly and drastically. He was still disappointed, but it was now more or less just embarrassed that he'd made that move. I couldn't really blame him; I was embarrassed for him.

The Spanish teacher was actually at school, a small woman named Señora Maya. She had long, graying black hair tied into a pony tail and weathered skin, small wrinkles forming at the edges of her eyes from smiling. She greeted me in a Spanish, wishing me a good year and sitting me next to Jay, like yesterday. I watched the clock eagerly for the day to end, and when the bell rang, I waited impatiently for Jay to hurry up and join me.

"Where are you off to this afternoon?" I asked, trying to be casual about it. If Seth wasn't at home, I didn't want to have to go home and sulk about it.

"Homework. We've got loads tonight," He said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"You wanna ride with me? I'll drive us to either your house or mine and we can do it together," I suggested, and he nodded, pulling out his phone to send a message to his dad to not worry about getting him.

"Dad had to work late, so I was gonna be here for a while anyway," Jay said.

When we got to the Escape, we threw our bags into the back and I backed us quickly out of the space and headed towards the road. I was very eager to get to La Push. I had to make sure that Seth was okay.

When we pulled into his drive, I felt my eyes narrow. The truck wasn't in the driveway, and the lights in the house were all off, despite the rain falling and making everything dark.

"He's not home," I said, and the worry colored my voice.

"I'm sure he's fine," Jay said soothingly.

"I hope so," I said. I threw the gear into reverse and started out, but I slammed on my break as I spotted someone in my rear view mirror. They walked around, and when I looked up, it was Seth.

There was something wrong though. His usually happy face was drawn, closed, sad. The light in his eyes was gone, replaced by a darkness. Then I noticed his hair was gone. Well, not completely, but short, so that it was nearly a buzz cut.

"Seth!" I gasped, my eyes wide. "Oh my God, what happened?" I asked, opening the door to get out of the car.

He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the ground. I wondered what was wrong, but I couldn't place it. Something had happened. Something bad.

I opened my arms, pulling him into a hug, and I heard him sigh, but it was one of sadness. "Seth, what's wrong?" I asked and I felt something deep inside of my break as Seth pulled out of my arms.

"Dad... had a heart attack. He didn't make it," He said simply, and tears started flowing out of his eyes.

"Oh no..." I said, trying to put my arms around him again, but I couldn't, he had my hands in one of his, pressed together. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. I now wished that Jay wasn't there, watching everything. It was bad enough that Seth had just lost his father.

"What happened? Something else is wrong," I said, and I could feel him shuddering.

"I can't tell you," He said.

"The hell you can't. You're my boyfriend, Seth, you're supposed to be able to tell me anything," I scolded. I'm sure it came across darker than I'd intended it to, and he winced lightly.

"I can't. I'm not allowed to," I could hear him struggling. It was like he literally couldn't tell me.

Suddenly he was shaking. I realized that I had been looking at the ground, and when I looked up, he was looking past me, into the car. His eyes were wide, nostrils flared, and he was glaring at Jay.

"Who. The. Hell. Is. That." He said, annunciating each word as though I couldn't understand English.

"Jay. He's a friend. The one who's dad is a cop," I told, and he shook his head, a confused look crossing his face.

"I've got to go. I can't do this right now,"

"Seth! What do you mean you can't do this right now?"

"Jasper, I can't take being with you right now," His eyes never left the ground, never looked at me.

I was broken. Everything in me felt like it was falling. It was my worst nightmare, coming true.

"What... I... Are you... breaking up with me?" I finally gasped out, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

"No. I just need some time," He said, and then he turned from me and ran into the woods behind his house.

"Seth! Seth!" I called, willing myself to move forward, but my legs wouldn't move. I felt arms around me and I realized Jay was holding me.

"Shh, Jasper, it's okay. It's okay," He said soothingly. He finally coaxed me into the passenger seat and started driving back towards Forks. I was unhelpful in giving directions to my house, but he eventually found it. He helped me stagger into my house and up the stairs to my room. I fell onto my bed, and fell asleep very quickly, not even sure if what had happened was a dream.

XXX

When I woke up the next morning, from a deep, dreamless ,black sleep, I went straight to my phone, homing in on the fact that there was only one message, from a number I didn't recognize.

_Hey, Jasper, it's Jacob. I was just trying to let you know that everything will be okay. Give Seth some space and time, about a week. He'll be around, I promise._

I moaned and turned my head back into my pillow. I couldn't take a week, could I? Was there any way I could take going a full week without knowing what Seth was doing or thinking, not even able to comfort him over the loss of Harry?

I realized that it was eleven, and found myself wondering if my mom had decided to give me the day off from school. I found that to be exactly the case when I didn't move for another two hours and finally surfaced to go the bathroom at one.

The day was terrible, and the next night was filled with nightmares. I didn't even pay attention to what I was wearing when I went to school, barely paid attention in class, and the cycle began again till Sunday morning, when my phone started going off. I barely said hello when my ear was assaulted by my name.

"Jasper! Jasper! Jas? Oh thank God you answered!" Seth yelled, and I held the phone an arms length away, still able to hear him.

"Seth? Are you okay?" I asked, uncertainty coloring my voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. Can I come over?" He asked, and my eyes went wide. Why was he suddenly back to himself? Was it just a small period of depression?

"Yeah, come on," I said. The way I said it though, my voice turned up at the end, so it turned into a question.

I headed down the stairs and had just reached the bottom when there was a knock on my door. When I pulled it open, I was pulled into a hug and a lot of 'I'm so sorry' s.

"Wow that was fast," Was all I had managed to say.

He pulled away from me, gazing into my eyes. The joy and warmth were back, though the daunting echo of depression was still slightly there. I fell pulled into the brown depths of his eyes and we stood embraced looking at each other for some time. It was only when James pulled us into the house that I remembered where we were.

"Guys, there's such a thing as heat. We need it," He teased. I stuck my tongue out at him and kissed Seth, savoring the taste of his breath on my tongue.

"I've missed you," I whispered.

"I've missed you. More than you can imagine," He told me.

"Is everything... okay now?" I asked, my voice betraying my by sounding worried.

"Yeah, loads," He said, and I smiled for the first time since Wednesday.

We spent the entire day together, unable to pull ourselves away from the other for long enough than to go to the bathroom. Most of the day was spent on my bed, cuddling, though there was enough making out to satisfy the near week long abstinence we'd both been dealing with. It wasn't until I'd flipped myself around to wrap my lips around his throbbing cock that I realized how horny I was. He came much faster than usual, and I was in the same state when he sucked me off.

Then I felt something new. His fingers were rubbing around my ass, and he slowly slipped one into me. I shuddered, loving the feeling, but feeling a little awkward at the same time. He pushed his finger in as far as it would go, but when he pulled back out, I gasped as a second finger went in. He started moving in and out a little faster, scissoring up and down, stretching me out. I nearly shouted and came again, shuddering as he slipped out of me.

I grabbed an old shirt to clean us up, and then stayed snuggled up to him.

"I love you," He whispered in my ear.

"I love you too," I replied, snuggling into his warmth.

"I'll come and pick you up for school tomorrow," He said after a while, and I realized that I was about to doze off.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up. I moved too quickly and became a little light headed.

"Nearly eleven," He chuckled, and I yawned.

I walked him down to his truck and kissed him before he got in.

"I love you," He said again.

"I love you more," I answered.

"Impossible," He said, smiling at me.

"You're crazy if you think that _that_ is impossible," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Get inside before you catch a cold," He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Fine, but you'd better let me know when you get home," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I will, I will," He said, backing the truck out of my driveway.

I gazed after him, the cold rain stinging my face, until his tail lights vanished in the darkness.

Something didn't feel right to me though, as I returned to my room. I couldn't place it, what I was feeling, but I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was a feeling of dread and loneliness. There was just something wrong about this. He shouldn't have had to have left yet. It was unfair.

When I reached my bed, I checked my phone. It was now December tenth, and I realized that tomorrow was my birthday. Oh no. Not my birthday. I shuddered, and my phone vibrated in my hand.

_I'm home. Happy early birthday_. He said.

I rolled my eyes as I tucked myself away into the bed. I didn't think I was looking forward to being eighteen tomorrow.

**Sorry it's so short guys, I'm running out of things to do before the crash. :/**


	9. Coming True

**A/N: Right, so I apologize for the long wait. I went to the beach this weekend and didn't have my laptop. Also, I've run out of things to do before the thick of the plot, so by the end of this, things will finally play up to the summary.**

XXX

My birthday was not full of happiness. I woke with a stomach ache, and I honestly felt like crap. Could it possibly be any worse? I shouldn't have asked that question though. As I stumbled down the staircase to eat some breakfast, I flipped the lights on and jumped backwards.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled. "Happy birthday!" I realized that all of my family and Seth were surrounding the kitchen table, and there was a giant cake with my name and the number eighteen in purple against startlingly white icing.

I pressed a hand to my head as it pounded furiously, a small smile on my lips which quickly transformed to a grimace as the pounding increased. My eyes closed for a second and then I was aware that someone had hands on me, steering me towards a chair.

"Whoa there, Jas, careful," My dad chastised as he sat me down. "Are you okay?"

"Headache," I mumbled, and then the kitchen went silent. A moment later a glass of water was pressed into my hand and some aspirin. I swallowed it quickly and then realized that a small candle had been lit on the cake. I smiled at everyone and blew it out before my mom cut me a small piece.

I ate my cake and as I started to stand, I pressed my hand to my head again, suddenly dizzy. I didn't feel good at all. Mom declared that I was unfit to go to school and sent my to my room, where I gladly succumbed to the sleep.

When I woke later, I was surprised to feel arms wrapped around me. I turned around in order to face Seth, who had looked down as I started moving.

"Morning sunshine," He said, smiling.

"Didn't you go to school?" I asked, my eyebrows creasing with worry. If I'd made him miss school because I was sick, I would be angry at myself.

"I did. You've been out for a long while. It's almost seven in the evening,"

"What?" I asked quickly, sitting up. He was right. The sky was starting to darken and the rainclouds looked more menacing than usual.

"Whoa, calm down. It's fine," He said soothingly.

"I missed my entire birthday!" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Well, not your _entire_ birthday. I'm taking you out tonight,"

"Really?" I was surprised. Well, not entirely, but still a bit surprised. I raised an eyebrow as he smiled at me.

"You'll see," He said.

XXX

I grimaced at my reflection in the window of Seth's truck as we drove along the highway. Seth had gotten us reservations at some high dollar restaurant in Port Angeles, so I was dressed up quite nicely: a light blue button-up collar shirt, khaki slacks, black dress shoes. Seth was wearing a black collar shirt and black slacks. The dark shadows that had appeared under my eyes seemed permanent due to the things happening around Forks lately.

The trip to Port Angeles was much faster than I had expected it to be, but the restaurant was nowhere close to my expectations. Claire De Lune was a giant Italian restaurant. It had a large fountain out in the front, and valet parking.

As the valet drove Seth's truck off to some parking lot, he took my hand and led me through the doors to the front. Inside, the walls looked like stone, there was an open fireplace, a small bar in the very back, and tables everywhere. The hostess smiled largely as we approached, and I saw it turn down some when she saw our interlocked hands.

"Do you have a reservation, sirs?" She asked politely, batting her heavily mascaraed eyelashes. The staff were all wearing the same airy white shirts, black pants, and black dress shoes. I noticed that the shirts all had names sown into the chest area; very classy.

"Clearwater, party of two," Seth said, and his voice was gruff. I wondered why as Holly, the hostess, turned around to check the reservation list, her blond hair bouncing in it's pony tail.

"Alright sirs, if you'll just follow me," Holly said, taking us around the podium and back towards the back of the restaurant. She sat us at a small booth with enough space for the two of us, handed us our menus, and then vanished.

"This is great," I said, smiling around at the place.

"Glad you think so," He said, and his voice was all wrong again – gruff and to the point.

"Seth? What's wrong?" I asked, looking up at him. His nostrils were flared, and he was glaring back into the other diners.

"Nothing," He said, but I turned around and caught who he was staring at so much. It was my neighbor's daughter, Bella, and her boyfriend, Edward. I noticed that Edward was glancing rapidly back and forth between us and Bella. I wondered why, but Seth grunted and I looked back over at him.

Seth was no longer glaring at Edward, but his gaze had turned instead to the waiter who had just appeared at our table.

"Welcome sirs, my name is Darren, and I'll be your server for this evening," Darren said. His voice was very high pitched, and very feminine. I noticed that he was angling his body towards Seth, and I was instantly jealous. There was no way on Earth I was going to let this guy flirt with my boyfriend.

Darren was sort of short, but very lean. He had curly blond hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken once before, very pale, and green eyes. His eyes kept flitting back and forth between me and Seth, and each time he looked at me, I could tell it was with envy.

"What can I get you to drink?" He asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen expertly from his pockets.

"I'll take a Coke," I said, and glanced at me once before writing it down, and then turning his full attention onto Seth.

"I'll have the same," Seth said, and Darren hurried off quickly to get the drinks.

"Oh my God, if he looks like that at you one more time I'm going to rip his head off," I glared in his direction.

"What are you talking about?" Seth asked, his eyebrows raising upward. I sighed; he was so oblivious sometimes.

"Darren. He's looking at you like you're the most perfect thing in the building," I said, jealousy coloring the tone of my voice.

"You're wrong about one thing there. _You're _the most perfect thing in this building," He said, and I blushed furiously, my face heating up.

Darren returned, almost too quickly, with the drinks and then left us to decide on our food orders. We didn't speak until Darren returned, not even five minutes later, to take our order.

"I'll have the chicken parmigiana," I decided, and then Seth ordered a lasagna plate.

I reached across the table and held his hand while we waited. I was very comfortable being there with him, aside from the occasional diner staring at our hands, which made me cringe inwardly.

Darren returned within a few minutes of taking our orders to give us a basket of freshly baked bread and marinara sauce. As he sat the items onto our table, I couldn't help but smile when I caught his glare towards our hands.

"If I can get you anything, please call for me," He said quietly before vanishing.

"Seth, this is such a nice place. I'm glad you decided to take me out," I said as I ate a piece of the bread. I moaned lightly as the bread, still warm from the oven, slightly melted in my mouth.

"It's your birthday babe. Nothing but the best for you,"

"You may be spoiling me," I chided jokingly.

"No way," He smiled at me.

We had just finished the bread and was in need of refills when Darren appeared with our order. He very carefully sat both plates down in front of us and then returned seconds later to refill our glasses.

The food was delicious, and we ate quickly and quietly. When the food was done, Darren brought us the check, which Seth quickly stuffed away after checking the price and passing him a wad of bills. He tossed up a five onto the table, and then held his hand out to me to take. He held it on the way out of the restaurant, and both of us pointedly ignored the staring diners.

I was surprised as we neared Forks that we bi-passed my street and headed further into town, and further surprised when we pulled into the movie theater.

"Wow, dinner _and_ a movie? I'm impressed," I said smiling at him.

"I told you, nothing but the best," He insisted. He bought us two tickets to go and see a romantic comedy, called _When In Doubt_. We picked seats in the very back of the theater, and I was happy to see that no one else took seats on our row.

I didn't remember much of the movie other than the opening title. Seth flipped one arm over the back of my seat and held my hands in the other, his head tilting down and demanding my attention.

Making out for nearly an hour and forty-five minutes proved to be a bad idea, in my opinion. By the time the movie ended and the lights came on, my pants were very uncomfortably tight and my erection aching for release.

I let Seth basically drag me out of the theater, as I wasn't quick enough to keep up with his long strides without running, and when we reached the truck, my mouth was on him, devouring every inch of skin I could get my lips on.

I'd already unbuttoned his pants when he placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I looked up, shocked and slightly hurt, wondering why he would stop me now.

"Wait. I'm spending the night with you tonight. I want it to be special," He said, winking at me.

I growled in frustration but uprighted myself, forcing my hands under my armpits to avoid touching my now raging boner.

It happened as we were leaving the theater. I was nearly bouncing up and down in my seat from impatience and feeling extremely horny. I glared outside of the truck window as the angry clouds finally split apart, spilling their heavy load of water. The entire area was drenched in a matter of seconds, and lightning flashed brilliantly, accompanied by the rumbling growl of the thunder. It wasn't really a growl though, it was more like, a very very loud crackle and roar.

Just as the last of the rumble of the thunder faded, the light turned green and Seth carefully edged the truck out, letting the tires get accustomed to the suddenly wet road. As we entered the turn, I suddenly realized that it was much brighter than it should have been for it to be nearly eleven at night in Forks, especially with it raining cats and dogs.

I was blinded by the headlights of the oncoming vehicle, and heard squealing tires on the wet road. Seth swore loudly, but it was cut off by the instantly painful impact as the car rammed into the passenger side of the truck.

I felt my body get shaken violently and tossed sideways, felt my head break through glass, and was aware of the rain cascading down in sheets on my skin.

I didn't hear anything any longer, only a loud screeching ringing in my ears. I couldn't see anything but blinding light, though it was going away and blurring on the edges slightly.

I tried to force myself to move, but I couldn't. It wasn't until Seth's face came into focus in my sight that I realized what was so ironic about the situation. This was my dream. His face was a look of horror and full of pain.

It was the last thing I saw before I slipped into the creeping dark oblivion that was waiting for me.

XXX

**Sorry it was so short guys, but I didn't think I could stretch that chapter any further out then it was written. Also, just a heads up, but the next chapter will be from Seth's POV.**

**Much love and hugs,**

**I.T.**


	10. Sorrow

**A/N: So this chapter is from Seth's POV, and will turn out to be high on the angst side :)**

XXX

I had the entire evening planned for Jasper's birthday. After the dinner and the movie, I had planned on going back to his house and having sex with him for the first time. Afterwards, to complete the perfect evening, I'd planned to be one hundred percent truthful with him.

Not that I had been lying to him; he just didn't know everything about me. Like the fact that I turned into a giant wolf whose purpose was to kill vampires. Or the fact that I'd Imprinted upon him; I suppose that _that_ was a very important thing as well.

What I did _not_ have planned for the evening was the wreck. It had just started storming violently, so of course, leaving the movie theater, I was being as careful as you can be while driving in such weather. I didn't even start turning until the light turned. I didn't realize until it was too late that the car coming in our direction was out of control. I looked up just as the truck lit up with white from the headlights.

"SHIT!" I screamed, but the air was forced out of my lungs in a _whoosh! _My eyes closed together tightly and I waited for the truck to come to a stop before I opened them again. I looked around, trying to make sense of what was going on. The first thing that I was aware of was the fact that I had blood running down my forehead, but I ignored that. Thanks to the wolf in me, the cut would heal within minutes.

The second thing that I noticed was that my windshield was broken. I was momentarily confused until I realized that Jas wasn't in the seat beside me where he should have been. The force of the impact must have broken the seat belt, and I let out a long stream of curses as I forced myself out of the truck, searching for Jasper through the heavy rain.

My eyes landed on his body and I let out an unconscious yelp of pain. His arms and legs were stuck out at odd angles, and his breathing was very fast. I forgot all about the damages to anything, including the offending driver, and my focus was solely on Jasper.

When I reached his side, I looked over him, trying to see if he was okay. He blinked up at me uncomprehendingly for a few moments, and then, his eyes shut, and it seemed more like a finality to me.

No. NO. It could _not_ end this way. I'd just found my soul mate! No!

Then I heard the sirens in the distance. Good. I didn't have it in me to move from where Jasper was laying.

I felt hands pulling at me, but I growled at them. Finally they quit and pushed me into the back of the ambulance instead. I held Jasper's hand the entire ride, not even letting go for one second.

When we reached the hospital, I unwillingly left his side to head to the waiting room in the ER. I had to make phone calls, and I was dreading each of them.

I dialed the number to Jasper's house first, knowing that this was going to be a long night.

"Hello?" Oh thank God, it was Mrs. Whitlock.

"Mrs. Whitlock? This is Seth," I said, and I realized that my voice was shaking.

"Seth? What's wrong? Where are you and Jasper?" She asked, her focus honing in on my upset tone.

"Mrs. Whitlock, there's been an accident..." I stopped, unable to stop the tears flowing from my eyes. I choked out the story and realized within seconds of finishing that she wasn't on the other end of the phone, and she'd hung up.

I called Sam next, and told him the same story, asking him to pass the message along to the other guys. I hung up from talking to Sam, and turned around to see the rest of the Whitlock family barreling through the ER door.

Mrs. Whitlock got to me first, and I realized only after a few moments that I was in her arms, bawling like a little baby. I blamed myself for this happening to Jasper, and nothing anyone could say or do could change how I was feeling.

Finally I was able to pull myself together, and found myself staring at the floor. I didn't know how long had passed since the accident. It could have been minutes or hours. I only looked up when Sam and the other members of the pack appeared, all surrounding me and the other Whitlock's.

It was with a slight feeling of relaxation when I saw Dr. Carlisle Cullen walking towards us. Although he was a vampire, there was just something... different about this one. Dr. Cullen was dedicated to saving lives, much like the pack was.

He spoke quietly to Jasper's parents and then his eyes graced quickly over to the rest of us, and then locked onto me. I stood and walked to him when he beckoned.

"Seth, Edward told me that you Imprinted on Jasper. He was at the restaurant tonight," He said, and I nodded, impatient to hear about Jasper. "He's in critical condition right now. He's in a coma, has extensive head injuries, and countless other problems. I think that his back may be broken as well." Carlisle said. I flinched after each word, and felt the tears welling up in my eyes.

I couldn't lose him. There had to be a way. I cringed lightly as Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder.

"Seth, I'll do everything I can to save him. I'll let you know if anything differs," He said before vanishing back into the ER offices.

I sat down in my chair, my emotions running a muck. There was nothing I could do. I felt powerless. It was all my fault, and there was nothing I could do. I felt my body shake slightly and I pushed myself out of my chair, saying I needed air.

As I pushed my way out of the ER doors, I felt my body shake violently. I made it to the trees with just enough time to push out of my close when I felt the tremors vibrate through me. I exploded, sandy blond hair forcing it's way onto my skin, my hands morphing into paws, my jaw elongating into a snout, my teeth forming sharp points.

I was almost instantly aware that I wasn't alone. Sam was there. And so was Jared. Both of whom had Imprints. It only made sense, in our interlocked minds, that _they_ should be the wolves out to comfort me. The only one that I really was missing though, was Leah. My older sister was missing. I didn't even see her at the hospital when Sam and the others showed up.

My echoing wondering where she was caused Sam to speak.

_She's with your mother._

_Good. Mom needs her._

_She needs you too._

_I can't leave Jasper!_

_Seth..._ that was Jared. _Seth you have to accept the fact that Jasper might not pull through this._

I was in agony at his words. I felt the other two flinch at my pain and recoil from my mind.

XXX

I didn't know what time it was. I had been circling the hospital for some time, and I had finally found the will to phase back to my human form. I found my clothes and quickly dressed, running a hand through my hair. I yawned and walked into the ER waiting room. I found the Whitlock's searching my face anxiously, but they turned away from me. I knew my own face was nothing but a mask of pain and misery.

"Dr. Cullen took him into surgery about an hour ago. Something to do with his lungs," Mrs. Whitlock muttered to me as I sat down next to her.

"Have we heard anything?" I asked, nervous feelings beginning to fill my stomach.

"No, not since he was taken back to the surgery room,"

So came the long wait. It must have been another hour before Carlisle appeared in the door way. As one person might have, the Whitlock's and I stepped forward to hear what was happening.

"He's just come out of surgery. As of now, he's stable, but don't get your hopes up. There is still a lot wrong with him," Carlisle said. Mrs. Whitlock tried to press him for more information, but he just managed to squeeze past us and into the back. I sighed, and sat down again.

The wait seemed to be forever. My long sad emotions had left, leaving me feeling cold and empty, almost depressed, but not quite. I felt more like a shell, just going through the motions of being there. My mind had shut down. I didn't hear anything. I barely noticed when Carlisle could be seen flitting from room to room in the back of the ER.

I was just standing to stretch and go to the restroom, when Carlisle walked out, heading straight towards me, his face grave. Oh no. No. No no no.

"Seth, we need to speak," He said, whispering. I realized that the rest of the family had fallen asleep, and the other members of the pack had followed suit. The sun had started to rise in the east, causing a large glare on the window – a false silver lining, I thought.

He turned, heading down a hallway using a light, though slightly fast for a human, speed. I followed him, dragging my cinder block feet behind me, my hand staring at the winding diamond pattern in the gray carpeting.

Finally, we reached the end of the hall, and Carlisle slipped into a door, which I realized had his name, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, MD, on the outside. I followed him in, and closed the door quietly behind us. He looked slightly older, somehow, shadows dark under his eyes; I wondered momentarily when the last time he'd fed was, but that thought quickly left my head as he remained standing, watching me carefully.

"Yes?" I asked, suddenly impatient. He sighed and then his eyebrows dropped out of concern.

"Seth, I know that you've Imprinted, so you needed to know first. I've done everything humanly possible in my power to save Jasper. But nothing human can save him," Carlisle began, and my slow and groggy mind ran circles around his sentence. What did he mean, he'd done everything humanly possible? That nothing human could save him?

Then it clicked.

"You mean that the only thing that could save him now would be for Jasper to change. To become a vampire," I said, not questioning it. The realization hit me hard. Could I possibly love a leech? Even if he was my Imprint?

"Exactly. So the offer that I am extending is simple. Jasper is only living right now because he is on life support. I know the bonds of an Imprint are strong, and I know that you love him. If you want, I can turn him to save him, to salvage part of yourself,"

I felt myself starting to drop. Carlisle must have noticed too, because he whooshed around me, and a moment later, I was in a chair which had not been there before. Could I do it? Could I let Carlisle turn the one person that I cared the most about into one of them? Into a vampire? And what about the others? Would they understand?

I pressed a hand to my forehead, covering my eyes. It had started pounding furiously, all the thoughts rushing through my mind. I wanted to say yes. I wanted to save Jasper. But it would be violating the treaty wouldn't it? It was against the treaty for one of them to bite a human. Even if I said yes, I would have to have Sam's permission. Then I would have to deal with the most likely revulsion and disgust from the rest of the pack.

"I want to... To say yes," I began, and Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "But I can't do it without Sam's permission. You know that it's against our treaty to have one of you bite a human."

The room was filled with an awkward silence, the weight of it pressing down on my eardrums. Finally, I moved. There was a way to save my other half. It might not be the preferable thing to do, but I had to try to save him.

"I need to talk to Sam," I said, and then headed out of the room.

I was awake, despite being tired. My cold and numb senses had begun to warm and realize what was going on. I made it to the ER waiting room just as Sam was extracting himself from his chair to go to the bathroom.

"Sam. I need to talk to you. Now," I said, and he could hear the urgency in my voice. He followed without questions outside of the hospital.

"What is it Seth?" He asked.

"Carlisle just told me. There's nothing humanly possible left to do for Jasper," I said, and he raised an eyebrow. "But there is something in Carlisle's power left."

"What? You can't seriously be thinking about letting Carlisle transform Jasper, are you? Seth, it's against our treaty!" He said urgently, his face twisting into a grimace.

"I know that Sam. I told him I can't do it unless you give me permission. Think. What if this happened to Emily? Wouldn't you tell Carlisle to turn her?" I said, using Emily to try to get him to understand where I was coming. He snarled slightly, but shook his head.

"Yeah... Yeah I guess I would," He said gravely.

"So do I have your permission?" I asked, and he hesitated. "I know the rest of them won't understand... well, except for maybe Jared, but that's just because he has Kim. Please Sam, I can't lose him," I said, tears starting to well up behind my eyes.

"Yes. Seth, I give you permission to tell Carlisle to turn Jasper," He said. I grabbed him in a quick hug and then headed into the hospital. I bi-passed the waiting room and headed to Carlisle's office. He hadn't moved from where he'd been standing when I left. Normally, this would have bothered me, but I brushed it off. Jas was my priority, not being creeped out by vamps.

"Carlisle, Sam has given me permission to transform Jasper," I said quietly. Carlisle nodded lightly, and then ran a hand through his golden hair.

"We're going to have to act fast. Once I take him off of life support, there is only a small amount of time left to get the venom into his system. The rest of the Whitlock family will want to mourn over him, but we'll have to make an exception. They'll have to grieve before I remove the tube, and then they'll have to leave as soon as I cut the support line, so that they'll only be able to hear the heart monitor go flat. I'll remove it right before I bite, but then I'll have to work quickly, CPR," He said, more to himself than to me.

"Okay," I said, leaving the office and then returning to the waiting room. I had just sat down when Mrs. Whitlock shifted beside of me. She woke up, yawning, and gently prodded her sleeping husband and sons awake.

Carlisle came out of the back, his face grave. I didn't remember seeing him move, but then again, vampires were inhumanly fast.

"Dr. Cullen? What's wrong?" Mr. Whitlock said, his voice nervous.

"Mr. Whitlock... I'm afraid that there's nothing left for me to do... The only reason that Jasper is living right now is because he's on life support. There's nothing humanly possible that can save him," He said. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and I let my head drop into my hand. I heard Mrs. Whitlock sobbing, and then felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up through bleary eyes to find Mr. Whitlock looking at me sadly.

"Come on son," He said. "We need to go say goodbye."

The mourning process was much faster than I had expected. We each went in, one at a time, to say our goodbyes, and I was the last to go in.

On the gurney, he looked pale, but a gray pale. His blond hair was tangled from not being brushed, and he looked awful. The heart monitor bleeped balefully in the corner, and I honed in on it. I wouldn't hear his heartbeat ever again. He might still be with me, but his heart would be still.

I took his hand and crouched by his side. I pressed his cold hand to my fiery cheek and let the tears fall.

"Jas," I whispered, "I love you so much. I hope you can forgive me." I kissed his forehead and then walked out of the room, and pulled into Mrs. Whitlock's wet embrace. I held tightly to her and held my breath until the heart monitor went blank. I followed the others out and into the mourning room, but not before my enhanced wolf ears heard the fast beating of a changing heart.


	11. Rebirth

**A/N: Sorry for the depressing stuff last chapter. But now, we're back to Jasper's POV. Also, the beginning may be a little intense, as I'm writing his transformation.**

XXX

It felt as though I'd been locked into a very dark box, with very little breathing room, and no ability to move my limbs. I remember feeling hands, hearing very low snatches of whispers which made no sense.

Then I remember something different. A ripping chill flying down the center of my body. The chill quickly turned to a flashing heat, and I felt like my body was being tossed into an oven. If this was Hell, I wanted out. The pain was intense and unbearable. I wanted to scream, but for some reason, I couldn't find the air to let out any form of noise. I wanted to flail my arms and kick out at whatever invisible pain was binding me.

My mind was completely focused on the pain, though in the depths of my thoughts, I registered the fact that my heartbeat was much, much too fast for any human to still be alive. Turning my attention to my violently thudding heart, the pain seemed like a small inconvenience. With my heart beating so fast that I couldn't even separate the beats in my chest, surely I shouldn't be alive?

It was then that the heat and pain ripped it's way through my body again and my heart was the least of my worries.

The agony seemed unbearable, and I found myself begging silently for it to be over. _No,_ I thought to myself, _What about mom and dad? Your brothers? What about Seth?_ Seth's name echoed loudly in my thoughts. I couldn't die and leave him behind. That was wrong. I shouldn't think about that.

So I struggled along through my silent torture. It wasn't until the pain had nearly ebbed out of me that I realized that it was beginning to subside. I was aware of the fact that I could no longer feel the stinging fire in my arms or legs. Mostly, it was between my throat and abdomen.

I could feel it curling smaller, tightening into a ball, stretching upward and leaving nothing that even reminded me of the pain below it. Once the fire reached my chest, I realized that my heart, if it was even possible, had faltered, and then picked up, nearly twice as fast as before.

Slowly, the fire was only in my heart, and then, just as quickly as it had started, the flames in me vanished, and along with it, the torturous pain.

I flexed my fingers and curled my toes, and opened my eyes. I gasped, and realized that the sensation brought me no form of relief like it should have. I felt the wind fly down into my lungs, which didn't expand, but rather simply expelled the air.

Everything was so clear. I could see every single grain in the ceiling above me, every color, rich in depth and brightness. I could see the floating dust particles, I could taste the air around me. The realization that I could taste the air suddenly had my throat on fire. I absentmindedly reached a hand upward and cupped the hollow of my throat. Something smelled delicious.

Before I'd really even considered moving, I realized that I was standing upright. How was that even possible? And why was my throat on fire? Why was everything so clear? I didn't understand.

My eyes flitted around the room, and the thing that caught my eyes was the fact that I was staring face to face with Seth. But he didn't look like Seth. His entire appearance appeared to be enhanced, every detail was noticeable. He was gorgeous, and as I tried to remember what had happened to me, I realized that all of my memories were foggy. But it was in that same instant that I realized that _he_ was what smelled so good. I wondered why on earth he seemed... appetizing. And then I noticed the look on his face. It was... disgruntled. That and slightly disgusted.

"Seth?" I asked, and I realized that something was wrong with my voice. It was clearer than it should have been. I reached up to my throat again, my eyes wide. What had happened to me? Seth's eyes narrowed slightly, and then his face turned into a grimace. What had I missed?

"Jasper? Are you... feeling alright?" He asked, and I realized that his voice also sounded much clearer than it used to be, albeit it was slightly rougher than mine.

"I... I don't know. I'm very confused," I said, once more cringing at my voice.

"Seth, didn't you tell him anything?" Someone asked, and I realized that there were others in the room now. Carlisle... was that him? But he looked gorgeous and much better than he did in my memories! And then I realized that all of the other Cullen's were too.

"No, I was going to tell him the night of his birthday," Seth said sadly, and I saw his face fall a mile.

"Tell me_ what_?" I asked, my voice curiously in a high pitch.

"Jas... we need to talk," Seth said, his face sad.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, my entire focus on him. I wanted to cross over to him, and to hug him, to hold onto him.

"Nothing is... wrong per-say," Seth told me, a small look of worry covering his face. "It's just some details that I never got around to... telling you," He said, and I felt my eyes narrow.

"Like?" I said, acid covering my tone.

"Um... you're probably not going to believe me, but... there's something different about me. Something highly unusual,"

"Entertain me," I answered, crossing my arms.

"Well... I'm a shape shifter," He said, and I raised an eyebrow. I kept waiting for him to break into a smile that said 'Gotcha!' but he didn't.

"You've got to be joking right?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"I turn into a wolf," He told me, and it was at that point that I felt my eyebrows arch and I was suddenly livid. Something was _wrong_ with _me_ and he was telling me some bullshit about him being able to transform into some _wolf_?

"What the hell do you mean?" I said, anger coloring my voice.

"I'll show you," He explained, and a moment later he started to remove his clothes, and I gasped in horror. He was going to strip down in front of the Cullen's? I mean, I wasn't objecting to having him bare like that for _me_, but I was his boyfriend for crying out loud!

But a moment later, that was the farthest thing from my mind, and I felt my eyes fill with terror. In front of me no longer stood my gorgeous Seth, but rather, a giant sandy colored wolf.

"S-Seth?" I stuttered, my entire body shaking with anticipation. He quickly changed back into his human form, and pulled on his shorts again.

"Yeah. I told you,"

"Did the rest of you see that?" I asked, horrified, turning to the Cullen's to make sure that I wasn't going insane.

"It's fine, we saw. And we already knew," Carlisle confirmed, nodding lightly in my direction.

"Why the _hell_ do they know and_ I _had no fucking clue?" I asked, offended.

"Well, I didn't necessarily tell them. They just kinda knew," He said.

"_How_?" I asked, my voiced alive with fiery anger.

"Well... They're kind of... vampires," He explained, and I felt sick, though curiously enough, there was nothing in my stomach for me to vomit. My mouth filled with something that tasted sweet, and I knew that it wasn't bile, and I wasn't sure what it was, so I swallowed it back.

"This is one big fucking joke. I don't understand anything that's going on right now. How the hell is my boyfriend a wolf and the Cullen's vampires?" I asked, more to myself than to anyone.

"Jas?" Seth asked, worried, and I felt him inch forward slowly.

"What?" I snapped, my face flying upward in anger.

"There's a few other things. For one, I Imprinted on you," He said.

"What the hell is _that_?" I gasped angrily.

"It's sort of like... we're soul mates," He told me, and I raised an eyebrow.

"So you mean to tell me that you're only with me because fate demanded it?" I nearly shouted at him, and I felt my entire world starting to crumble.

"No, that's not why I'm with you. Imprinting can only happen after you become a wolf. I met you before the wolf appeared. I was with you before, because I love you. The Imprint just made us stronger," He tried to explain, and I shook my head, more confused than before.

"So if I'm your... Imprint?" I asked, and he nodded. "Then why am I surrounded by the Cullen family?" I asked, and his eyes flashed darkly for a moment before turning to Carlisle for help.

"Jasper, there's something else here, that's a bit bigger than just you," He began, his features and demeanor calm, and I felt my eyebrows rise.

"Obviously, as Seth said before, we are indeed vampires. And a few of us, such as Alice and Edward have extra... abilities, I suppose,"

"Such as?"

"Alice has a curious ability to see the future," He said, and Alice chuckled a bit.

"Of course the visions depend on the decisions made by the people I'm viewing," She giggled.

"Yes, well. And Edward... he can read minds. But only what you're thinking of,"

"What? Both of those things are impossible," I said, and Edward scoffed. Then I realized that beside of him, was Bella. My throat ripped up with fiery thirst again, and I felt my eyes narrow in confusion.

"Not entirely," Edward said dryly. "Right now, you're thinking about why you're feeling an intense thirst."

"Fine. What else?" I asked impatiently.

"Well, because of Edward's abilities, we knew about the Imprint before you did. Therefore, I had to ask Seth about you. I had tried everything within my power, human wise, to save you,"

"What... what are you trying to say?" I asked, as I started to realize a truth that I did _not_ want to accept.

"Jasper... You're a vampire," He said gently.

Then it hit me. I was _thirsty_ for _blood. _I took a breath in and let my senses follow through. The mouth-watering scent was Bella. I swallowed hard, and then looked at Carlisle.

"How?"

"I was granted permission from Sam, Seth's alpha, to turn you,"

"Why?" I asked, this time directed to Seth, who cringed slightly.

"Because I can't live without you," he answered simply.

"But... I don't _want_ to kill humans!" I said, my voice higher and louder than before. I saw Carlisle grimace lightly.

"You won't have to, if you live with us... or rather, like us,"

"Explain?"

"We're not like normal vampires, and in more than one way. Usually, our kind travel singularly or in pairs, and they usually do not settle at all. Our coven is one of the largest, second only to the Volturi, who are sort of like the royalty of our kind. They are the closest thing we have to law-enforcers. Now then, what I meant about us not being like the others, is that we are sort of... vegetarians. As you know, vampires feed off of humans. We have found that you can feed and live off of animal blood," He said, and I felt something click in me. I could do this without killing off humans?

"How?" I asked, suddenly finding it hard to continue breathing with Bella in the room.

"Well, it's as simple as hunting, except for you don't go after humans, but rather the animals," Carlisle explained, oblivious to my discomfort.

"Bella, love, let's go. You're very... appetizing to Jasper at the moment," Edward said. I sent him a small thank you in my mind, and he nodded, almost invisible, it was so quick.

The moment Bella left the room, I found my nostrils assaulted by a very tantalizing smell, one that wasn't necessarily like food, but rather one that was... erotic and exciting. My senses wondered, and I realized that the smell was Seth.

Without thinking, I launched myself towards him and knocked the both of us to the floor, and he was looking up at me worriedly.

"You smell... amazing," I said, smiling down at him, and I hoped it came out as a compliment, but it didn't, and his eyes were full of horror.

Suddenly, I felt hands on me, and I was jerked backwards. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't really comfortable either, and I felt my face fall, and I looked down.

"Oh please, he's just talking about the scent of the mate, you've all smelt it," Edward said, walking into the room, rolling his eyes and grinning. The hands released me, and I turned around, glaring at a very large guy, with curly black hair and black eyes. What was his name?

"Emmett," Edward answered my silent question.

"Right," I said, then turned back to Seth. "I'm sorry if I scared you. But you really do smell good. But not like food," I said, and a sheepish smile appeared on my face. Seth smirked, and stood up, and walked towards me, gathering me in his arms.

"You smell amazing too. Not like a leech," He said, and I could hear the surprise in his tone. But then I realized that I was feeling things that I shouldn't have been. I was feeling embarrassment, I felt amusement, I felt acknowledgement, I felt resentment, I felt all kinds of things. What the hell?

"Interesting. Carlisle, I think Jasper might have a gift," Edward said quietly. Interest. I felt interest now.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked, and I realized by his tone that _he_ was the interested one, not really me. I was still amazed by everything going on around me, and I had felt physically that Seth's hands were running over me. From him I was feeling intense feelings of love and adoration.

"I think that Jasper might be able to distinguish feelings," Edward said.

"Of all of us?" He asked.

"Indeed,"

I was feeling very hot all of a sudden, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Seth was like a furnace on my skin. I wanted him to calm down and stop. We weren't alone right now. Then I felt him stop moving and step a little bit aways from me, and looped his hand into mine.

"Oh my, he may be able to control feelings as well," Edward said, and I felt very strong pulls of interest from Carlisle.

"Oh enough of this. I'm sure you're dying of thirst dear," A small brunette near Carlisle said.

"Oh, Esme's right. How rude of us," Carlisle said. "Edward, would you like to...?"

"No, I need to tend to Bella. I'm sure that Emmett wouldn't mind, he hasn't been in a while," Edward answered.

I felt a large hand clamp onto my back, and though it didn't hurt, it jolted my body a little.

"Right. Time to go hunting little bro," Emmett said from behind me, and I heard a sniff, and looked over to see a beautiful blond rolling her eyes. Wait – wasn't that the one that I'd seen Seth glaring at my first day of school? She turned to head down the stairs, and then I felt Emmett pushing me forward.

"Oh don't mind Rosalie. She doesn't like anyone really,"

"Oh fine, see if you get anything from me tonight," Rosalie called in her near perfect voice.

**A/N: I know I sort of drifted from the seriousness of Jasper becoming a vampire at the end there, but I just don't feel like being too serious right now. And I haven't updated in ages. So here you go :)**

**Much love and hugs,**

**Ikuinen Talvi**


	12. Hunger

**Seth: Thank you little brother :) Glad that my writing has improved to make you happy.**

**Sarah: Thank you dear. I'm glad you're enjoying it ;)**

**A/N: Switching between Jasper and Seth this chapter.**

XXX

_**Jasper's POV:**_

Emmett pushed me forward towards the window, and I gave him a sarcastic look. It was a two story drop from the window sill to the ground.

"You'll be fine, besides, you're nearly indestructible," He assured me. I rolled my eyes and tensed to jump out of the window, but the next thing I knew, I felt a wave of worry, and felt Seth grab my arm.

"Seth?" I asked, my eyes meeting his concerned ones.

"I'm not ready to let you out of my sight just yet. I had to suffer for nearly four days while you were out," He hedged, and I realized what he was asking. He wanted me to either stay with him or him go with Emmett and I on the hunting trip.

"Well, I _really_ need to feed, and I'm almost positive that it would piss Edward off if I tried to drink Bella's blood," I said, gaining a slight _harrumph_ from Edward as he cleared his throat. "So I guess you'll just have to go hunting with us."

"I'm not sure I want to go hunting with a leech," Seth said, and I just realized how much his words stung. I was a 'leech' now as he so kindly put it. I jerked my arm away from him and glared at him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't talking about you." He rushed and I sighed.

"Well, either way, I'm going hunting," I decided, and then turned to face the window. I took a deep, unnecessary breath and jumped. The wind whipped my hair backwards, and I smiled, but my feet hit the earth below me too quickly for my liking. I landed gracefully, not even feeling a slight shock from the landing. I gazed up as Emmett landed next to me, finding Seth peering down at us.

"Come on then," I called up to him, slight laughter filling my voice.

"Fine," He grumbled, and I moved back a bit as he jumped and landed beside of my. I put a hand into his and followed Emmett as he led the way beneath the trees. Seth rubbed a thumb over our interlocked hands, and I smiled. I'd always liked holding his hand. Then something was agitating me. We were walking _much_ too slow, and Emmett was already at least twenty feet ahead of us.

I felt Emmett's annoyance as he looked back at us, and rolled his eyes.

"Come on slow poke. Vampires are faster than humans. Just try running. Though you'll have to be away from the mutt for a bit," He chuckled, and I glared at him.

"He's a wolf, not a mutt," I muttered, and Emmett laughed louder. "Do you mind?" I asked Seth, who's fingers tightened a bit around mine. "I wanted to see your wolf anyway."

"Fine," He said, repeating his earlier statement before jumping out of the window. He went behind a tree, and I felt a sense of nostalgia, coupled with slight nervousness as he phased. When he emerged on the other side of the tree, what I was expecting didn't meet my eyes, and it slightly shocked me.

Seth was very tall, and a lot bigger than a regular wolf. He had sandy colored fur, and his eyes sparkled intelligently, the same warm brown that his human form held. He trotted over to me and put his head to my shoulder, and I raised a hand, letting my fingers run through his warm beautiful fur.

"Let's run," I said, and I _guessed_ that he smiled, because he showed his teeth, and I felt something like laughter coming from him. I looked over at Emmett, who I had just noticed was eying Seth suspiciously. "Oh he's fine. It's not like you've provoked him to attack," I said laughing. I walked a bit away from Seth, and then I let my senses take over. I was _fast_, I can say that much. I was able to outrun both Emmett and Seth, and Emmett fell just a bit behind Seth, but both Seth and I dropped back to follow Emmett, although it irked me to contain myself.

The pure _adrenaline_ that went through my no longer moving system was exciting. The wind whipped through my hair, and it felt exhilarating. It was with slight disappointment when the running came to and end, and I stopped just at Emmett's side, with Seth on my right.

"Okay, so what do I do?" I asked, and Emmett guffawed.

"Just let your senses run wild. Make sure you don't go after anything that smells... too good," He instructed.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose, letting myself wonder around a bit. The wind was blowing to the North – how I knew that, I didn't know. I guessed it was a natural thing to be more aware as a vampire. The it abruptly changed, and was blowing south. Something good filled my nose, but it was wild, not cultured like Bella's blood had been. I let go, allowing my body to fly underneath me towards the owners of the scent, and I came to a stop facing a bunch of deer. There were at least seven of them, and three bucks.

I launched myself onto one of the bucks, sinking my teeth into the thickly pulsing jugular in his neck. The blood pooled into my mouth, and I was surprised by the flavor. It was slightly off-kilter from what I'd expected, though it was remotely sweet. It was also a bit bitter, and slightly reminded me of an apple.

The buck was completely drained before I'd expected it to, and I looked up to find both Seth and Emmett with the other two bucks. We all finished as the same time, roughly, and I stood, feeling a bit sluggish from the blood in my system, but realizing that the thirst was still there.

"Why am I still thirsty?" I asked, and Emmett laughed.

"It'll take more than one buck to fill you up," He explained, and I sighed, before letting my mind go blank and letting my senses out. I smelled the does that remained, but I didn't want another one of those.

Suddenly, the air changed and something assaulted my nose that had me flying towards it. I checked behind me just long enough to see Seth looking at Emmett, who was laughing – again.

I rolled my eyes and gave my full attention to the target ahead of me. When I came to a stop, I realized that the temperature around me had dropped significantly, although it didn't bother me. I looked around, finding that I was in a mountain range, and beneath me, my prey.

It was a large grizzly bear, his fur specked with silver and gray from age. I inhaled deeply and smiled to myself as I dropped from my tree branch and landed on his back. He jerked his head forward in confusion and then rose up on his back, snarling and trying to reach me.

I smiled and let out a tinkling laugh, which caused the bear to go still after hearing it for a moment. When I stopped giggling, he resumed trying to get me off of him, and I rolled my eyes before sinking my teeth into his neck.

His blood was a _lot_ better than the buck's had been, and it had a slight tang to it – must have been from whatever meat he consumed. He drained slower than the deer had, although still faster than I would have liked. I shoved myself off of his carcass, and looked around, wondering where Emmett and Seth were, until I saw the both of them looking at me from a bit away. I ran over to them, smiling.

"Thirst quenched," Emmett noted, smiling largely.

"Yep," I answered, smiling timidly. Seth nudged my shoulder gently, and I smiled. I ran a hand through his hair and then brought my eyes to look at his. I smiled brightly at him and then started running, following Emmett back through the wilderness. I was suddenly no longer hungry, but I was totally ravenous for something that involved my Seth.

XXX

_**Seth's POV:**_

The entire hunting spectacle, though slightly disturbing when watching Jasper and Emmett doing it, was kind of fun. I'll admit, watching Jasper take down his first kill made me swell a bit with pride for my Imprint. He was actually handling being a vampire _much_ better than I'd thought he would. As we ran back to the Cullen's home, I watched him as he sped up and getting smaller. He was very fast, and I smiled to myself stupidly before I realized that I was being watched, not by Emmett or Jas, but by my pack brothers.

_And sister,_ Leah thought angrily.

_God you're smitten,_ Paul commented loudly, and I sighed.

_Shut up Paul, you're awful,_ I thought and checked to see who all was present. Jacob, Sam, Jared, Embry, Quil, Paul, Collin, Brady, and Leah.

_Says the fag dating a fucking leech,_ He said hatefully.

_PAUL!_ Everyone shouted, and I mentally flinched.

_Sorry Seth. That was out of line,_ Paul thought insistently, and I let my irritation color my thoughts.

I had momentarily forgotten that Jasper was able to tell what I was thinking, and so it frightened me for a small moment when he appeared at my shoulder, looking at me with a concerned look on his face. I shook my head when I remembered, and he nodded, but I almost didn't catch it because he did it so fast.

I felt everyone shudder, and I rolled my eyes.

_You're all just jealous that I'm happy,_ I said laughing.

_Whatever, you're just weird for liking a leech,_ Jared said, but his tone was light and friendly, so I know he was just joking around a bit.

_Seth, don't get too comfortable. You're still a part of this pack,_ Sam said, reminding me that I was still technically obliged to run patrol with them.

_Oh lighten up a bit, Sam. Let him have some fun,_ Embry said, and I smiled.

_Hey guys, I gotta go, we're at the house,_ I said, and then phased on the fly as we reached the back yard, pulling on my shorts that I'd managed to tie around my ankle before we'd headed out for the hunting trip.

The moment my shorts were zipped, I felt ice-cold hands on me, and if it wasn't for the fact that his smell didn't completely turn me on rather than make me want to vomit, I would have freaked out thinking I was being attacked.

I reached my hands around, pulling him close to me. I reached down and kissed him, wondering about his stone-like lips. I shuddered involuntarily at his icy touch, and he smiled a bit.

"Wait," Jasper said, pulling back and causing me to gasp for breath. What was he thinking, stopping now? "We need a bedroom," Jasper said, eying Emmett questioningly.

"Yeah. Take the top room where you woke up," He said, chuckling to himself and had a knowing look to him.

I was about to reach down to take Jasper's hand, but when I grabbed, there was whooshing air, and I realized I was in his arms and suddenly in the room that we'd been in earlier when he'd first woken up to this new life. I looked around, realizing that it had already been cleared of the gurney we'd brought him to the house in, and in it's place, was a large black bed.

As if the surprise of Jas now being strong enough to lift me, jumping while carrying me in his arms and into the room came as a complete shocker, but I got over it quickly as his hungry mouth met mine.

I slipped my tongue into his mouth, exploring and tasting, the new sweet flavor slightly invigorating me. I pulled back in pleasure as his teeth started grazing down my neck, and I heard ripping fabric as he tore my shorts apart, and I grinned. I reached down hastily, pulling his shirt up and over his head, and he returned to kissing and nibbling up and down my body, and I breathed in heavily as his cool mouth slipped around my throbbing erection.

I let my fingers twist around in his blond hair, which seemed to have gotten brighter since he was changed, and groaned from pleasure as he started to fondle my balls. I didn't know if it was inhuman speed, or if I was still built up from his birthday nearly five days back, but I came within moments of starting.

There was more ripping of fabric as he hurried to get his own pants off, and I grinned as I felt the back of my head being gripped lightly as I guided myself down to his bobbing cock.

I teased him a bit, licking up and down his shaft twice before pulling him into my mouth and sucking hard. He must have been just as ready as me, because he came just as quickly, and I reached down to stroke my already stiffening cock.

Jas leaned upward and kissed me, and the taste of us combined on my tongue had me pulling him up onto the bed and underneath me. I slipped a finger into my mouth, wetting it down a bit, and then reaching downward, and slowly circled around his entrance. He moaned quietly in my mouth and I grinned, before slowly inserting the digit in. He was _very_ tight, and I wondered how long it would take before he was ready.

He reached out and grabbed my cock, and I shivered lightly. I pulled back and moved to insert my middle finger in with my first finger. When I was in deep enough, I started to do a scissoring motion, trying to loosen him up some more. He groaned, looking up at me and smiling a bit.

I leaned down and kissed him again, before sliding my ring finger in with the mix, but not for very long. I was on the verge of coming again, and I needed to be inside of him. He felt my urgency, and I pulled my fingers out of him, and he wrapped his legs around my waist.

I guided the head of my throbbing dick towards his entrance, pushing ever so slightly, until I felt myself slip in. I pushed deeper in, an inch at a time, so that he wouldn't hurt when I did.

Finally, I was all the way in, and I pulled out slowly. His cool muscles around me was making me that much more excited, and when he looked up at me, his eyes were either full of lust or love. I couldn't really tell; I hoped, and knew it was love though.

I slowly started to pick up speed, thrusting in and out, and relishing the sound when he started moaning my name, and it drove me crazy. Finally, I came at the same time that he did, and I collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily.

"I love you," I whispered in his ear.

"I love you too," He said, kissing my cheek lightly.

**A/N: I know, I know, it's short. My brothers are getting restless though, and I wanted to give them _something_ :)**

**Much love and hugs,**

**Ikuinen Talvi**


	13. Prejudices

**A/N: So school started back on August 27th for me. If I don't update as fast, you know why. Now, onto the story. **

XXX

After those glorious moments when everything seemed to click and become whole for me, it didn't seem to surprise me when I realized that I couldn't sleep. I lay on my side, letting Seth hold me as he slept, his steady breathing blowing lightly against my forehead, moving small pieces of my hair, his warm heart beat in my ears, the heat of his skin surrounding me. Really, for the first time since waking up to this new life, I felt safe.

I was still curious as to why his scent didn't make me want to drink every ounce of blood out of his body, especially due to our close proximity to each other – physically at least. At that particular moment, with my ears so close to his pounding heart, the sound of life-giving blood rushing through his veins like roaring ocean waves, theoretically, my mouth should be watering from thirst, not drooling from ecstasy.

Another thing that didn't seem very surprising was the fact that time was objective. It only mattered to a vampire when there was a deadline. It passed very quickly, and I was only aware that night had stopped and dawn had broken when Seth grunted in his sleep, yawned, and opened his eyes to look down at me.

"Well hi," He said, smiling largely at me.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," I said, grinning back at him, pulling from the depths of my murky human memories what he'd once called me after waking from sleep. That was something else that wasn't necessarily surprising, yet it was irritating. Everything I'd thought to be clear as a human, all of my memories, it seemed, when I remembered them, that I was viewing them through a muddy pool, or a dirty mirror.

So it largely concerned me when I remembered my parents and my brothers – but only just. I could remember their names and their voices. But I couldn't remember what they looked like, and that scared me. I felt my face drop a million miles and I felt Seth's mood change from bliss to worry.

"Jas? Babe, what's wrong?"

"My family," I whispered, and something was welling up inside of me. I felt like I was on the verge of crying, but my eyes didn't sting. Instead, I was gasping as if I couldn't breathe. As I struggled to gain my breath, some part of my brain thought that this must be what it was like to cry as a vampire.

Likewise, as with the discovery of crying without actually crying, I felt Seth's mood rapidly shrink into a state of immense sorrow.

"Jasper..." He murmured, pulling his arms around me and allowing me to sob dryly into his chest. "Shh. It's okay. But this is a reality that you're going to need to accept. You don't want to endanger them, do you?"

"No," I answered stiffly. "But I don't want to lose them forever. I'm not ready for that," I said, and I realized that I must have sounded really whiny at that moment.

"Jasper, listen to me. I know that it doesn't really make much of a difference, but... The Cullen's, my pack, and I, we're all your family now," He whispered, and I felt my eyebrows shoot up – not from hearing him, but from his feelings. They were uneasy when he mentioned the pack.

"What's wrong with the pack?" I asked, and I heard him sigh, before I looked up into his eyes, full of worry. He gazed at me, and in his pupils, I saw my own reflection, upside down of course, my red eyes gazing worriedly into the eyes of my mate.

"I've told you that we're designed to take out... vampires," Seth said, and I nodded, not yet understanding where he was going with this. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how they're going to be with my Imprint being one."

"But you said that you got permission to have me changed," I reasoned, and I could feel him fishing for answers. Honestly, my 'gift' was still kinda creeping me out.

"Yes. But most of them weren't too happy about that, particularly Paul and Jared,"

"So? If they don't like me, they can't very well kill me. That's like, against wolf code or something isn't it?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, it would kill me, and then I'd have to fight the wolf responsible to the death,"

"Do me a favor? If something happens to me, you are _absolutely not_ allowed to harm yourself," I growled.

"No promises," He said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me," I smirked, pressing my lips to his.

"Yes boss," He muttered when we broke off so that he could breathe. It was kind of funny, now that I didn't get tired or have the need to breathe

"Do me a favor?" I echoed myself from earlier, gaining a confused look from him.

"What?"

"Fuck me," I whispered, gaining a large smile and him pushing me into the bed, kissing me hungrily.

"With pleasure," He rumbled.

XXX

It was some time into the afternoon when we surfaced from the room that Emmet had led us to the day before. I let my senses lead me, as I still had no idea where anything was. The small floral scent of a woman led us to a back room, where we found Esme pruning a rose bush of the small weeds and deadened ends.

"Good morning," She smiled warmly at the both of us, and then walking over to hug me and Seth, who was feeling slightly embarrassed and awkward. I squeezed his hand in response, encouragingly. Esme, on the other hand, was feeling euphoric, which of course, was making me gravitate to her. Something I had realized about my gift – the emotions of others not only became clear to me, but also influenced me. And there was something else I _thought_ I might be able to do, but I didn't really want to entertain that notion.

The ability to control the emotions of another. I'd realized it might be a reality when we first got to the house yesterday after our hunting trip. I'd felt Emmet's rambunctious emotions, and because of that, I knew Seth and I would never be left alone, so I sort of... willed for him to feel more or less... bored.

"Esme, is there any food in the house? Seth is hungry," and as if to prove my point, his stomach rumbled raucously, to which he grimaced in embarrassment.

"Oh no, I'm afraid not... you'll have to go somewhere. I'll stock up for the future," She said thoughtfully, and then returned to her roses.

I grabbed his hand, and then pulled us back into the house's front room, the one with the Grand Piano.

"Well, there's no food here," I said gaging his emotions. He really did need food, otherwise he would pass out or at the very least, he would be sick.

"Come on, let's go by Sam's. I'm sure he'll have some food," He joked, but when he tried to pull me forward, I stiffened.

"What's wrong, babe?" He asked, his eyes full of worry. I smiled carefully, trying to stow away my emotions, and reached up a hand to push his long black hair back behind his ear.

"The pack exists to kill vampires. And the Cullen's aren't supposed to be on your land. I don't think they would take to kindly to me being there," I said gently, but he snarled.

"They wouldn't lay a hand on you. You're my Imprint," He growled.

"But I'm still the reason for your existence, love," I said, my smile slipping into a grimace.

"I don't care if you're a vampire or not. You're my soul mate, my Imprint, the one I love. That's all that matters,"

"You're way with words are impeccable,"

"I know," He said grinning, and took my hand again. "Let's go."

"Fine, but I'm staying right beside you the entire time," I agreed, taking his hand tightly in mine.

"Babe, not so tight,"

"Sorry," I answered, loosening my grip.

XXX

We'd chosen a bad day to show up at Sam's house, in my opinion. I knew Seth was convinced that the other wolves wouldn't hurt me, but I was the exact creature that they killed. And it didn't help that all of the wolves were at Sam's house. As we pulled up, Seth squeezed my hand reassuringly, his warmth shooting tingles up my arm, and I smiled.

"If we make it out of this alive..." I started, but he interrupted me.

"We will. And I'll fuck you," He finished, and I grinned before kissing his cheek.

"Good," I said and whipped myself to the other side of the car. "Now let's get you some food."

We'd begun walking up the path when a voice I didn't recognize yelled out from the side of the house where they were all eating. My natural instincts caused me to tense and I wanted to crouch to attack, but Seth squeezed my hand comfortingly.

"Seth! What's up man, where ya been?" A curly headed kid asked, walking over to where we stood, seeming to not have noticed me yet.

"'Sup Collin. Brady," He said, and I noticed another, almost identical to Collin, standing just behind him.

"We're all in the back. Emily made a feast," Brady said grinning.

"Sweet. I'm starving," Seth answered, his face lighting up. He started around the house, forgetting my presence, his mind set on the food. Collin and Brady closed in, blocking my path and glaring at me, but in a confused way.

"What are you doing on our land, leech?" Collin asked.

My emotion-tracking power or whatever you wanted to call it was going crazy. I picked up confusion from the both of them, but at the same time I felt irritation and anger. Not to mention the euphoric high coming from the rest of them gathered around the food.

"I'm here with Seth," I said quietly, my lips tucking into a frown.

"Well you're not welcome here," Brady said, and I felt a wave of apology from him. Something tells me we would have been friends had we not been mortal enemies.

"I am aware. But Seth asked me to come with him, and so I came," I answered, looking quickly between the two of them as they began to crack their knuckles and roll their shoulders.

It actually kind of struck me as amusement as they did so; the fact that they were so small, probably the youngest of the pack, was absolutely hilarious. I bent over, holding my sides, attempting to control my laughter. Major confusion consumed their emotions, feelings of fighting subsided.

"What's the matter with it?" Collin whispered, and that stopped my laughter. I'd been called an 'it' before, but because of my sexuality.

"I'll have you know I'm a guy," I said straightening up, my laughter completely gone.

"What the hell is going on back here?" Said a voice I knew – Paul. Shit.

"Leech," Brady said nonchalantly, but I still felt apology from him; it made me wonder why, but I shoved the thoughts aside as Paul's angry face appeared in my vision.

"The fuck?" He growled, eyes bulging.

"I don't want any trouble-" I began, but was cut off by bitter laughter from Paul.

"The fuck you don't. Think you can just come waltzing onto our territory without starting shit?" He asked, shaking his head. "Stupid ass leeches never learn."

"I'm with Seth. He asked me to come, so I did," I answered coldly.

"Oh, so Seth has a pet does he? I wonder what he'll think of me ripping your head off,"

"Try me," I smiled wryly.

"PAUL!" Seth screamed running from around the corner, and for a moment, relief washed over me. "Get the fuck away from my Imprint!"

"Shit, I didn't know _it_ was yours," Paul said, emphasizing the word 'it'. Really, what was it with these... mutts and that word?

"Shut the hell up. You know good and well _he's_ mine," Seth snarled, his emphasis placed on 'he'.

"Guys! Stop!" I heard a slightly recognizable voice – Sam – as he rounded the corner, confusion turning to disinterest and also the will for it to end. Good thing we were on the same line on one thing.

"Right, with Paul insulting me and my Imprint as well as threatening him? I don't think so Sam," Seth said shaking.

"Enough. You will both calm down. And Paul leave Seth and... Jasper alone," Sam said, struggling for a moment to choke out my name, looking at me apologetically.

Then, as though a veil was dropped, they both stopped glaring at one another and Seth crossed over, taking my hand, pulling towards the food.

"It's bad enough he's gay, but his Imprint is a vampire?" Collin whispered to Brady, and I only caught it because of my enhanced hearing.

"Yes," I smiled brightly at him, leaving him gaping like a fish on a hook, before following Seth, whose attentions had once more returned to food.

XXX

**A/N: I'm really sorry this took so long. I had planned to update a LOAD earlier than this, but a lot of things came up on top of school starting back. And I'm thinking about starting a Maximum Ride fiction. Let me know what you think? And I promise to update faster – no more two month waits :)**


	14. Convincing the Unconvincable

The euphoria that had surrounded the table prior to my arrival had turned to nerves and worry. Not that I could blame them. Sure, I'd met them all before – but that was _before_ my transformation; they didn't know who I was anymore, let alone if they could trust something they were born to kill, even if I _was_ Seth's Imprint.

I listened attentively to Emily as she talked happily to me – they'd seated me beside her and Seth, but Seth was too busy eating to pay me much attention – and it became obvious to me that this was exactly what Emily had been meant to do; she was a pack mother basically.

"They eat and eat so much. It's like trying to feed an army," She told me, grinning and grimacing at the same time, her scarred face marring her beautiful features. I smiled politely at her as she took a moment to sip some kind of drink, probably Coke by the smell of it. My human self would have loved a Coke, but with all these bodies, I was more or less just thirsty – only one problem though. They all smelled terrible, like wet dog. Even Emily and Kim, who were both human, and had life-giving blood running through their veins didn't smell good.

"So, what's it like? You know, the vampire life?" Emily asked me, her eyes curious.

"Oh you know, buckets of blood for dinner, sleeping in coffins, luring young women to the crypts," I said absentmindedly as I watched Seth inhale his food. Honestly, he'd wind up giving himself a stomach ache eating like that. And Emily started laughing. She was laughing so hard that tears were in her eyes when she resurfaced.

"Funny," She said in apology, her eyes bright.

"Thank you," I smiled. In all honesty, Emily was probably one of the nicest people I knew. Like the human wolf-girl form of Esme.

My eyes roamed the rest of the table, landing on Brady, who I found looking up at me repetitively before glancing down. I homed in on his emotions, wondering what he was feeling.

Shame. Unhappiness. Embarrassment. But then there was a mix of things I didn't understand – pride, idolization. I gently tapped Seth's arm, who looked up at me with a portion of biscuit hanging out of his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"What's the story on Brady?" I asked quietly, nodding in his direction. Seth's eyes darkened a slight bit, chewing on his biscuit.

"'Ell you la'er," He told me, reaching for his drink. I nodded and kept to myself for the rest of the meal, making polite conversation with Emily.

By the end of the day, I found myself washing dishes with her while talking with her and Kim, Quil having taken Claire home earlier, and the boys rough housing and joking with one another outside. I had just stacked the last plate into the dish drainer when a deeply cutting smell flew through my nose. I slammed a hand over my nose and held my breath as the smell of chicken blood filled the room, Kim and Emily oblivious to my reaction.

"Jas?" I heard Seth ask from the door, and my eyes met his, large and scared, flitting back and forth between his and the chicken. I zoomed past him, my inhuman speed carrying me past him and the other members of the pack before they realized what was going on. I stopped about five minutes later, finding myself standing outside my home – my family's home. Oh shit.

I stared up ominously at the place that I had intended to live at for at least another year. Hell, I'd only been in school for two weeks. What about Jay, the friend that I had made, the one who's dad had been a cop? Had they gone to my funeral? Had I even been given a burial?

The white house loomed over me, and I saw a light cut on in the front of the house, the kitchen. The curtain had been pulled back, the twilight filling the room. My perfect eyesight homed in on my brother James, his familiar blond hair pulled back into a tie. He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a yogurt – odd. My brother didn't eat yogurts. His face grimaced as he pulled open the top, like he always did to me. He slipped a spoon into the creamy depths of the healthy bacteria, and ate a tiny spoonful, his eyes tearing up as he swallowed.

The choking feeling was back – the crying without crying of the vampires. He was forcing himself to eat something that he detested with a burning passion, to remind himself of me? This wasn't right. Surely I should be allowed the gift of my family?

It was then that a hand appeared on my shoulder, big and warm, and Seth pulled me into his embrace. I gasped wildly, and he hushed me, running a hand down my back carefully.

"I can't do this to them," I whispered, knowing he would hear.

"But you can't hurt them either," He told me, just like before.

"They're already hurting!" I protested, my tone covered in acid.

"Do you think you'd be able to restrain yourself from attacking them? The scene a few seconds ago with the chicken should prove that to be a no!" He argued, his brow furrowed, hands coming to rest on my arms.

"It's not fair," I growled, pulling away from him.

"I know, but there's nothing you can do," He said.

"The hell I can't," I told him, glaring in the direction of my family's home. My other brother Jack had appeared in the kitchen now, pulling the yogurt away from James and pulling him into a comforting hug. Jack had gotten his hair cut, I'd noticed. A short buzz cut. I remembered how he'd always wanted to go into the military. Could it be that he'd finally gotten the chance?

"They think you're dead. It would hurt them worse to see you," Seth said pleadingly.

"But it would make them happy again," I said with a finality.

"They'd think you are a ghost!"

"Seth, you lost your dad. I know that was hard for you. But can you imagine how it feels to lose your entire family?" I looked at him. His face had drawn inward, his eyes dark. He's breathing was coming out a lot faster now, more labored. I could tell that he'd started shaking, and I think I might have gone too far.

"Shh," I whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, but he snarled at my touch on his fiery skin, and I pulled back as though I were wounded, the look on my face hurt. His feelings, outrage, anger, hurt, all suddenly came to a flying stop. Suddenly I was wrapped in his arms, assaulted by feelings of sorrow and love.

"I'm so sorry," He whispered after what seemed like a life time. We'd stood there locked in each other's embrace until it was no longer twilight, but dusk. The light in the kitchen had gone off, leaving behind it a small glow from the living room, and a light in one of the upstairs rooms had been cut on. He kissed me then, but only slightly. I pulled back, looking into his deep brown eyes. I could see my golden ocher ones reflected in them, but deep inside, beyond the reflection, was a hope.

"I still need to do it," I whispered, and he nodded.

"I know," He answered gruffly, taking my hand. "But let me lead the way. This won't be easy for them, and _they_ are human. You were already a vampire, it was easier for you."

"What do you mean 'already'?" I asked, holding his hand back so that he wouldn't start walking towards the house.

"It's supposedly against vampire rules for mortals to know about the existence of them. Something about the need to keep the secret. You would have had to be changed if you'd known what the Cullen's were as a human,"

"But if whoever carries out this supposed law doesn't know, then it can't possibly hurt my family, right?" I asked, and I saw his eyes frown.

"It would be difficult, but I'm sure it's possible," He answered though doubt still shrouded his tone. "We need to tell Carlisle and the pack what you plan to do. This is bigger than just reuniting you with your family. This involves an entire city."

"Fine. You find Sam, I'll get Carlisle. Meet in the woods behind the house in five minutes," I said, pulling away from his hand. I kissed his cheek before pelting off, my feet flying. I had to get to Carlisle. I _would_ be with my family again tonight. I wouldn't let something as trivial as being immortal from stopping me.

XXX

I found Carlisle and the rest of my new family in the living room, Edward on the piano, Bella with him. Rosalie and Emmet sat in the corner, Carlisle and Esme dancing softly, and Alice fluttering about messing with flowers and vases.

"Everyone?" I asked, my voice ringing through the house. Edward ceased playing, the final note filling the silence ominously, and the full house turned towards me, their eyes curious.

"Yes?" Carlisle questioned, his eyes like molten gold – he'd just hunted. And so had the others. Golden eyes looked upon me, and not for the first time, I reflected about my own scarlet eyes. Another turn off in terms of meeting my family again.

"I need a huge favor of you..." I began, and at once I saw Edward's eyes narrow as he read my thoughts.

_Give me the benefit of the doubt_ I thought towards him, and his eyebrows rose, but he nodded.

"Yes dear?" Esme asked, her voice timid.

"I need all of you to come with me please-" I started, but I was interrupted by Rosalie, her beautiful face sneering.

"Why should we?"

"Hush Rose. He's our family now, just as much as you. What is it Jasper?" Carlisle asked kindly.

"It's very important. I know it goes against everything you've ever done, but I need to be reunited with my old family too," I said quickly, and I saw his eyes darken.

"Jasper..." He began, and I hastened to explain.

"Please. I was just outside of my old house... Seth and I had gone to Sam and Emily's and there was food. I wound up helping wash the dishes, and they were getting ready to cook a chicken. The blood was too enticing, so I ran away and found myself there. I saw my oldest brother forcing himself to eat a container of yogurt, even though it makes him sick, and my other older brother is going into the military. It's so saddening for them. Please?" I asked, and Esme's eyes softened. She touched Carlisle's shoulder lightly, who glanced at her.

Something passed between them, I'm not sure what it was, but it must have been mutual understanding.

"Alice?" He asked, and my new sister smiled at me before losing focus on what was now but instead turning her attention to the future.

"Nothing wrong," She told him, winking at me and slipping the last of her roses into the crystal vase she'd stopped at.

"Fine. Come everyone," Carlisle said, and at once, I bolted through the door, and I heard a slight human gasp from behind me. I remembered that Bella was there then, but shoved her out of my mind. She would probably be helpful in some way or another.

We returned to my old home within a minute, and came to a rest in the woods behind it. I heard Bella whimper slightly, and I laughed at the irony. This girl wanted to become a vampire. She _wanted_ to leave behind everything, even her father, who actually lived next door to my old house, and here she was acting like a baby. I shook my head and settled into a still position to wait for Seth and the pack, my eyes watching the house. The light in the living room was from the TV, a soft glow, seemingly ominous.

It was then that the pack showed up, all in human form, for which I was thankful. They all had looks of ultimate disgust on their faces as our scent reached their enhances noses, and in return, the smell of wet dog met ours, and I heard my family shift, their uncomfortable feelings permeating my mind. I did smell Seth's wonderful scent, making me more confident, and I smiled, stepping forward.

"What's this about?" Sam asked, his voice grating.

"I need to be reunited with my family," I explained quickly, explaining how it was hurting them. Most of their faces remained impassive with a tinge of hate, but two faces I noticed were in sympathy – Leah and Brady.

"So what you're saying is that you want to just uproot both of our secrets so that you can be with your family again?" Sam asked, and he scoffed. "Sorry, but I don't think so,"

"Please, you don't understand," I began, but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen,"

"Wait, why shouldn't we? Imagine how you would feel," Brady said, gaining every eye on him, and a small snarl from Collin beside him.

"But we don't," Sam reasoned.

"I do. If you remember, I lost my whole family and was adopted by Collin's. Keep in mind, I love my parents, but I wish I could be with my biological family," Brady retorted, his voice gaining strength with every word.

"I agree with Brady. Seth and I know how it is to lose a parent. Sure, maybe we don't know what it's like to lose a full family, but I'd give anything to be with Dad again," Leah said, her voice full of emotion.

There was loose tension in the gathering, and nerves assaulted me from both sides. Finally, Carlisle stepped forward, his golden eyes blazing in the moonlight.

"We've given our consent. Do you?" He asked Sam, his voice calm. After a few moments of absolute quiet, Sam stepped forward, shaking his head.

"Fine. But if something goes wrong, it's on _your_ head," He agreed looking at me fiercely.

It was with those last few words that I went around to the front of my old home and landed on the doorstep within moments, closely followed by my new friends and family.

I placed my palm gently on the door, before forming a fist to knock gently. Since becoming a vampire, I had never felt so weak.


	15. Family

A/N: Hey everyone, I apologize for not updating - my laptop finally died and I just got an iPhone. I'm going to try to keep everything up to date, although it's gonna take time and probably pain to the thumbs... And much much shorter, quicker updates. Can you all handle like, 1000-1500 word updates versus 2500? My hands are already killing me.

XXX

My heart would be pounding furiously if I were still a human. But, I wasn't; I was a vampire, and I was stronger and faster than any of the people I was around right now- aside from maybe Emmett or Edward. Cautiously, I stepped forward, slowly and not breathing, carefully watching my family's faces.

The looks I got ranges from confusion to hurt to understanding, and the latter was on the part of my brother, James.

"What on earth?!" My mother exclaimed, followed by a yelp from Jack, and a furious shout from my father.

"Hi mom," I said, listing what was left of my precious air. Suddenly, I felt myself being held by both of my parents and my brothers, and the air around me was tinged with anger and being uncomfortable.

"You're a vampire?" James asked, and I felt the emotions turn to complete anger.

"Um. Yes. How do you know?" I asked, and I cringed at my wrong voice again.

"I had a vampire friend is hen we lived in Texas. Peter and his girlfriend Charlotte were both vampires," he explained. I understood now - Peter and Charlotte were both extremely pale, abnormally so for people that lived in Texas; we only saw them during overcast or rainy days, or night time, and their eyes were always shadowed, as if they never slept. I guess now they used contact lenses to cover up the vermillion of their eyes.

"Peter and Charlotte?" My mother gasped in exasperation. Her world must have been turning upside down.

"But you were dead! We saw you die!" My father yelled. I gazed at him, willing cool and calming thoughts towards him. "At least, I thought we did."

I smiled shortly at knowing my powers worked, but then returned to the matter at hand.

"It was supposed to be easier that way, but I couldn't bear the separation any longer," I explained.

"What do you mean, couldn't bare the separation?" My father asked curiously.

"My kind do drink blood dad," and he shuddered. "But I'm trying to be civilizes like the rest of the Cullen's - by drinking animal blood rather than human blood." It now looked like he might be sick, and I grimaced in apology.

I lifted my, and inhaled deeply, attempting to get fresh air so that I could continue talking to them. And it was a bad idea. The alarmingly tantalizing smell of these four humans was almost overwhelming. I felt like someone was shoving a white hot poker down my throat, and I jumped backwards in alarm, rocketing over the others.

"Sorry!" I gasped after catching their alarmed faces. "You just smell too appealing to breathe around!" There were some small chuckles, but mostly sharp intakes of breath and fearful looks cast about. I sat down, on top of my hands in an attempt any remaining somewhat in control of my body - which I was; but I didn't need to scare my family into thinking I might harm them, or the pack to think of me as a threat.

The tension slowly ebbed out of the yard as I willed everyone to remain calm. It was hard work, attempting to reach everyone, but somehow, I managed. I watched carefully as my mother's eyes took in everyone around us - and her eyes landed on Bella.

"Bella?" She asked, as if she were searching for confirmation that this was real and no dream.

"It's alright Mrs. Whitlock. Everything that he's said is the truth. See, Carlisle had done everything humanly possible to save Jasper - but what he needed was the venom - it kept him alive, so isn't that a good thing?" She said, her words coming in a rush.

"Well... I suppose so - although I don't see would you couldn't have told us, Dr. Cullen," she said seriously.

"Ah, see, there's this kind of, royal family of vampires, the Volturi, from Italy, who rule over the vampires - and we really only have one rule keep the secret," Carlisle explained. They looked even more confused now, so I hastened to intervene.

"Look, the point is, he couldn't tell you without endangering you. I'm putting you on the line now just by speaking to you - but I couldn't put you through any more misery at my expense," I said almost sadly. The emotions that attacked me were a kind of depressed weight, and it felt like I couldn't breathe - not that I needed to, but that was besides the point.

The looks on my families faces were definitely hurt, but mostly seemed like they were geared towards my having to transform into this... demon to keep me alive.

"I'm sorry," I said again, and the wracking sobs returned to my body, and I felt Seth's arms folding around me.

"It's okay, shh," He cooed, attempting to calm me. It worked, but only just. Then another set of arms, frail, human arms were encompassing me - the arms of my mother.

"Jasper," My mother said, and I looked up.

"Yeah?"

"It's okay. Thank you for coming," She said, and I smiled balefully up at her. "I love you,"

"I love you too," I said, and then suddenly, there was a gasp from behind me, and I turned to find Alice's face locked in a wide-eyed glare. Her emotions were scared and shocked, and I was by her side in an instant.

"Alice? What's wrong?" I hissed, and she gripped my arms for support. She stayed locked like that, followed by hisses of outrage from Edward, who had appeared to her side, and then slowly came out of her vision, looking around wildly.

"Victoria - she's raised an army of newborns," She said hastily, talking so fast that only those of us with enhanced hearing could hear. I glanced quickly to the faces of my family, and they looked scared again. I dashed to them, pulled them each into a hug, and then pushed them back into the house.

"I love you," I said, shutting the door. "Stay here, stay hidden."

The moment I turned around, I know something was wrong. The emotions in the air had turned hostile. In front of us stood a new vampire, one that I had never before seen - she had flaming red hair, wild, cat-like features, and was glaring directly at Alice.

There was a feral snarl from my right as Edward placed himself protectively in front of her, and loud rumbling growls from my left - I realized that the wolves had changed. She looked familiar somehow.

"Before you say anything, I'm not Victoria - it's Elizbeth. I am Victoria's twin sister,"


	16. Warning and Loving

A/N: So, hope you all enjoyed the last chapter - I got lucky enough to use my home computer when my parents went out to tack on an extra couple hundred words. Here we go! Also, I know it's been a really long time since my last update, and I'm sorry for the delay. You don't know how hard it is to type when you have an iPhone. My grandpa got me a laptop yesterday for my birthday on the 21st. Also, lemons!

XXX

"You're... Her sister?" Bella asked flatly, her eyes confused. The red-headed vampire rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Well done," She said, sarcasm dripping from both words. "Yes, I am her twin sister, the older twin, and the smarter one."

"Pardon me... Elizabeth?" Carlisle began, and she nodded. "But what are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you. Victoria is a strange woman, has always been, even since birth, two hundred and fifty years ago. She has a gift of her own, persuasion, and I have mine, which is closely related to your youngest vampire over there - the empath. Anyway, she's raised a mass army of newborns with her gift, and she's managed to convince them that sunlight harms them," At this, she laughed, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the gullibility. "She plans to strike on New Year's Eve, the day that 'vampires can come out in the day'." She ended, and the whole area seemed shocked as silence enveloped us.

"Um... Thanks for the information, but why tell us if she's your sister? Isn't that, like, ultimate betrayal?" I asked, and her emotion spread into mirth and cynisism.

"I can't stand my sister!" She said haughtily. "I'm telling you because it's time for her to die. She's merciless." Elizabeth said, and as I examined her feelings, I knew she was being truthful. I looked to the gathering around me, and I realized they were glancing furtively between Edward and I, as if we would be the deciding factors.

"Her emotions are true," I told them dismissively, and then they focused on Edward, whose brow was furrowed in concentration.

"And the mind doesn't lie," Edward spoke finally, after what seemed a life-time.

The grouping around us relaxed, and with only minimal help from me - even the pack seemed relatively calm after our judgements. I turned to Seth, whose eyes were trained on Sam; I'd never gotten the chance to appreciate his wolf form really - his sandy fur was lustrous, shining even in the rapidly darkening night sky, his warm brown eyes sparkling intelligently. He wasn't a tall as the others, but his head was still at least a foot above mine.

I started when he growled at one of the other members - a small dark brown one, surprisingly slightly shorter than him. The wolf blinked once at Seth, seemed to glare at me, and then looked away pointedly.

I gazed at Seth, who shook his head at me. I would ask him later, but I guessed that the wolf that glared at me had been Collin.

"Elizabeth, do you plan in hunting your sister down?" Rosalie asked, suddenly curious. Her question caught Elizabeth off guard, and the red headed vampire started.

"I won't participate... But I will lead you to them," She answered. Conflict colored her resolve. A since of betrayal, love, etc. Once more, dashes of eyes flying towards Edward and I, and I nodded almost simultaneously with him. I felt the emotions of my new family relax, and a stomach growl from one of the wolves. I chuckled, and Seth snorted beside me.

"So, New Years Eve. That gives us... what, a few weeks?" Emmett said, cracking his knuckles.

"A month," Alice said, her eyes dipping into the future for a moment.

"So much time to prepare," I muttered, and Edward chuckled.

"You're just as much a newborn as they are. You'll be with Bella and I," He said, and earned a growl of disapproval from Seth. "Naturally, you'll be there too Seth." Edward answered an unspoken question, but I felt Seth's contentment.

"You're welcome to stay with us," Carlisle offered to Elizabeth, who shook her wild hair - it looked almost like flames to me.

"No, I need to hunt, and I'd really rather not do it on another coven's land," Elizabeth answered. "I'll be here the night before." And with that, she vanished into the night.

I felt Seth phase beside me, and pointedly made everyone else feel distracted by looking away as he slipped on his shorts.

"Thanks," He whispered into my ear, raising the goosebumps on my arms.

"Thank you. For letting me see my family," I told him, and he kissed my cheek.

"Okay then, everyone, let's go get things... back to normal," Esme said, her light motherly voice drifting towards us.

I grabbed Seth's hand and walked slowly with him, as the rest of my family disappeared into the forest surrounding us and the wolves made their way back to Sam's place. It felt different tonight, and I didn't quite understand why. It wasn't the chill in the air. It wasn't the fact that I'd just seen my family. Something about it was just very... somber. Like it was a night of reflection.

"Where are we headed?" Seth asked me as we broke the forest line and landed on the road.

"I was thinking our place," I said, smiling. His grip got tighter and I caught him grinning at me. It wasn't long before we reached the shore - it was high tide. I kicked my shoes off, smirking at Seth's raised eyebrows.

"I'm as cold as the water now, if not cooler. It won't bother me. Besides, you really think that Alice would let me wear the same thing twice?" I joked. We waded into the water, ankle deep, just like our very first walk. The only difference was it was Seth that pulled me out complaining of icy feet. We made our way up the slope to the intertwined driftwood. The wood's bone color showed brightly against the night around us, and as we approached it, I found myself in a state of dejavu, even though I knew that I'd already done this once before.

I sat on the wood, leaning against Seth's hot body. For this to be December first, it wasn't as cold as it would have been had I still been a human. I listened to Seth's heartbeat, letting it lull me into a state of relaxation. We stayed like that for a while, his arms wrapped around me. It might have been seconds, it might have been hours. The only thing that made me aware were his heartbeat and his shifting weight. Finally, he tapped my arm and I got up to follow him. Instead of making the super long trek back to the Cullen house, I found us heading to Sam's, which surprised me - especially when we bypassed the truck.

As we crossed the threshold into Sam's house, I heard snoring and heavy breathing, and all of the lights were out. It must have been really early in the morning. I sat down beside Seth on the couch and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. He was adorable like that. His mouth hung open lopsidedly, his long body stretched over my legs and hanging off the arms. He really needed a haircut, I thought, as I watched him, tracing a piece of his long black hair and tucking it behind his ear. One of the good things about being a vampire is that we have no sense of time. The night passed us by like sand through an hourglass. It was around noon when everyone began to surface. Emily was first, smiling at me before heading to the kitchen, followed by Sam, who nodded in our direction before following his imprint.

It was still a bit hard for me to think about being Seth's imprint, destiny, fate, or whatever. But I'd gotten used to it. As the others began to either rise from the depths of the house or show up from their respective places of residency, I nudged Seth's side to wake him up. He groaned and gave me a slight glare, but it turned to a smile almost immediately.

I enjoyed a scene of watching the pack eat the brunch that Emily had cooked up, and from the looks of things it would have been delicious if my appetite wasn't quite so wild. Seth got creative then, looking at me curiously.

"So why can't you eat human food?" He asked me.

"Beats me, but it honestly doesn't smell that good anymore. No offense Emily," I added, grimacing at Emily, who chuckled as she enjoyed a small plate of her own.

"Try some?" He goaded. I couldn't ignore those eyes. His big, brown eyes. I rolled my own crimson ones and picked up a piece of toast, shoving it into my mouth. It tasted like dirt, and felt like sand going down my throat, and it caused me to gag.

I ran out the door to sounds of laughter and found myself chucking up the piece of bread. Seth's concerned face appeared in the doorway, and I glanced up at him.

"That is why I can't eat human food," I said, not bothering to glance at the vampiric sick that had emptied itself to the ground.

"Right. Strictly blood," Seth guffawed. He grabbed my hand and we walked back inside, said our goodbyes and then hopped back into the truck. It wasn't until we'd made it out on to the main road that the events of last night came wading into my mind.

"What are we going to do about New Years Eve?" I asked. Seth's brow furrowed as he drove, and I noticed his grip on the wheel got tighter.

"You and I will be going with Edward and Bella, keeping us out of the way. I don't want you getting hurt or mistaken for a newborn," Seth said.

"But I want to fight. I want to be there, with my new family. We're fighting to keep the peace," I protested, but he cut me off with slight kiss on my lips.

"Look. If something - anything - were to happen to you, and I could have prevented it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. We're going with Edward and Bella, end of discussion," He told me. He wrapped our hands together as he drove, silence settling in the cab. I let the message of his words sink in, absorbing them. The Imprint thing must be deeper than I'd originally thought. I mean, of course I didn't want him to be in the fight either, but if it was to the point where we would be suicidal upon losing the other... it was almost frightening, but kind of beautiful at the same time. That old saying 'I'd take a bullet to the head for you' was literally at the extremity of its definition.

It didn't take us too long to reach the Cullen house. The windows gave me a fleeting glance of Esme and Carlisle dancing to something old that I didn't recognize, Alice and Rosalie putting vases of roses everywhere, Edward and Bella at the piano, and Emmett watching the sports channels. I bypassed them altogether, heading for the room that I had claimed for ours earlier, dragging Seth behind me. As soon as the door shut, I was on him.

I felt fabric rip beneath our fingers as we gripped each other. I felt our lips crush together in a moment of need, his tongue instantly asking for entrance to my mouth. We were naked and on the bed within seconds. I flipped him below me, kissing a line from his neck to his collar bone and back up again. The goosebumps that I felt really wound up the eager and sudden need that I had. I licked his collar bone and traced a line from there to his naval. I stopped for a moment, glancing up at him, his large and hard cock already in my hand and holding still. He looked at me and almost whined from want. That was enough.

My mouth slipped over his head in a quick pull, earning a gasp from him. I worked my way up and down the shaft, squeezing playfully, and even once slapping my face with it. It wasn't long before I felt him pull me up and under him, as he returned the favor. He left me quite too soon though, leaving me panting from excitement. It wasn't long before I felt him, hard and heavy, pressing against my ass. He entered slowly, letting me adjust to him, pushing in inch after inch. Finally, when he was as far in as possible, completely pushed against me, he pulled back and slammed into me with everything he had. I screamed in ecstasy, as he slammed against my prostate, over and over again. I wrapped my legs around his waist and moaned with each rocking motion, bucking my hips in response to his rhythms. It wasn't long before his speed overcame him, and he came inside of me, collapsing with a groan of pleasure. I laid there in his arms for a time span that felt like eternity.

I didn't want to let go of the feelings, but his stomach growling kind of ruined the moment. That and the time had progressed by quite a long time. The clock on the wall told me that it was six fifteen, and I didn't want to starve him. I smiled, kissing his nose, and rose to go to the closet. As I rummaged through the clothes that Alice must have conveniently placed earlier, I felt his arms wrap around my stomach, and he put his head on my shoulder. I held one of my hands over his as I pulled out two outfits for us - and for once was grateful that Alice was so thoughtful - Seth was so much bigger than I was.

"Alright, get dressed. Dinner time," I joked. He kissed me before reaching out for the pants I'd chosen for him.

"I love you Jas," He said.

"And I love you too," I told him, smiling.

"Where are we going for dinner?" He wanted to know as I slipped on a cream colored sweater.

"I don't know. Wherever you want. I'm pretty sure they don't serve blood at restaurants," I muttered darkly, before laughing with Seth, whose giddy personality always made the grin permanent on my face.

"Let's go to a steak house. You can order yours rare," He said, and I lost it then.

"Fine!" I finally managed to choke out as we made our way out the door. I caught a smirk from Emmett, and I had a feeling that I would need to get that room soundproofed. I felt a mixture of mirth from Emmett and pretty much embarrassment from the others, and it confirmed my thoughts. I thought as hard as I could _SOUNDPROOF IT_ to Edward, who let out a chuckle as I let the door close shut.


	17. Little Talks

A/N: Right, so I know I was away for a super long time, but did I really lose all of the people that were leaving me reviews? Please review! Otherwise, it might be ending a lot sooner than anyone might want :c If I don't know what direction to take it, it will end within the next few chapters.

XXX

One month. That was the time frame that we had to work with. As the days began to slip past us, I began to think about all the faces I had come to know and love. Most often, it was Seth, because I was his Imprint, but that was inevitable. Aside from Seth, all of the faces, vampire, human, and wold alike, swam before me, and I felt distraught at what might happen if any of them were hurt. Seth could see that I was worried, but he didn't confront me about it until two weeks had passed, and it was the week before Christmas.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, holding my hand as we walked down a street. We'd been out shopping for Christmas gifts to give, and we'd gotten everyone except for Esme and and Carlisle a gift.

"Nothing," I said, but he pulled me to a stop, put a finger under my chin, and made me look at him.

"Tell me," He replied. It wasn't a question, but more of a demand. I looked up at him and I felt something tugging at me. A kind of gasp hit me, and just like that I was doing the whole dry-sobbing, no tears crying thing again. He wrapped his arms around me, ignoring the plentiful looks of curiosity and disgust that we were receiving from onlookers. "Whoa there, what's wrong?" He said soothingly.

"I keep thinking about it. You know, the fight," I managed to get out finally. "What if we lose someone? I have two huge families now, people fighting for our safety on both sides. There faces keep swimming to my mind, I can feel their worry and nerves, and some, especially Esme and Rose, Emily and Kim, they feel the same thing that I am - desolating worry. I don't want to lose anyone or have anyone get hurt. It would hurt me too."

Seth pulled me back, and looked at me, his eyes serious. He gripped my shoulders and we both took a deep breath - not that I needed it.

"Listen to me," He told me. "Nothing will happen. We're all very experienced with this kind of thing. Some of the Cullen's have been around for centuries. And the wolves were built for this. We _can_ handle this, and we will make it through without losing anyone. I promise you that."

I looked at him one more time, his honest sincerity finally winning me over. I kissed him.

"Thank you. For putting me at ease," I said, and he gripped my hand tighter in response.

"Now, what should we get Carlisle and Esme?" He asked.

"I don't know. What do you get a vampire who has been around for nearly one thousand years?" I asked. We turned a street corner and found ourselves standing face to face with a wild red-headed woman, a woman that I'd seen before.

"Elizabeth?" I asked, and she hissed in response. Oh. Definitely not Elizabeth. So this must have been Victoria.

"My sister. How do you know her?" She spat. Wow, you know, aside from the looks, they are almost nothing alike, I thought to myself.

"We met the other day. I was visiting family," I said, calmly, willing her to calm down. She didn't seem phased though. It was like she was working her way through it somehow, and no one was resistant to my gift - I knew that without a doubt.

"Oh, and she just happened to show up?" Victoria asked, tilting her head to the side, her cat-like eyes narrowing, fiery hair bouncing.

"As a matter of fact, yes she did. She was hunting," Seth chimed in. Victoria seemed to notice him for the first time, and she looked taken aback and slightly shocked. She took a step back uncertainly, and I used her moment of confusion and weakness to over power her with my gift. She took a sedated look of serenity, and tried hard to focus on us.

"You're... not a vampire?" She asked hesitantly, and Seth shook his head. "Oh. Well, you smell awful." She muttered. I growled in response, but she seemed to not take any notice.

"Victoria, how come you're in Seattle?" I asked, and she shook her head, confused.

"I don't remember," She said, and it seemed like she was speaking the truth. This must have been what Elizabeth had been talking about - Victoria's power of persuasion. Good thing I knew better.

"Well, we'll be going now," I said, slowly releasing my grip on her. She shook her head, closing her eyes, trying to focus, and I grabbed Seth's hand, and walked away. As we made it to the street corner, we ducked into an alley way.

I waited for five seconds while Seth phased, and then we were off like bullets. It didn't take us long to make it back to Forks from Seattle. About a ten minute run, but all the same, I was on edge, looking past us, darting into the trees to get a good look around to make sure that she wasn't following. My vanishing acts into the trees were unnerving Seth, but I had to. When we came to a halt outside of the Cullen house, Seth, still in wolf form, threw back his sandy head, and let out a terrible howl. I placed a hand on his head to shush him as my vampire family came outside.

"We met Victoria," I explained. There were looks of realization and shock, shifting from face to face before an echoing howl in the distance told us that the wolves were on the way. As soon as Seth nudged me, I began talking. I knew that Seth's strange mind link with the other wolves would be active right now as they came to us.

"She obviously wasn't happy that we knew Elizabeth," I said. "At first, that's who I thought it was. But when she started talking and I got a whiff of her emotions, it was very clear to me who she was. Her gift of persuasion was no falter on her sister's part - she was even able to fight through my empathy link with her before she realized Seth wasn't a vampire." I said. When I came to a finish, the hairs on the back of my neck raised upright and I knew that the other wolves had come to the clearing.

They were snarling, shaking their heads back and forth, some even pawing the ground. I caught a pointed glare from one of the wolves - the same one that had made a point of looking at me a few weeks back. Seth growled once more, and he fell silent, just like the last time.

"So she _IS_ in Seattle," A voice said, and we all whirled around to find Elizabeth in our midst.

"Welcome Elizabeth," Esme said absentmindedly.

"Yes yes. Now then, what exactly did she say?" Elizabeth said. I hastily relayed my memories and she nodded knowingly. "Yes, just like her. She was always so different... so wild. Okay, I know what we need to do. I have the most experience in dealing with my sister. She obviously wants revenge against Edward, so she's targeting Bella for James, who was her mate. This army she's raised will be under her persuasive influences. If you want to take them down, you'll need to break her first."

"And how do you propose that we do that?" Carlisle asked curiously.

"We need to strike where it hits her hardest - and that is her mind. Victoria is used to dealing with my power or another empath by themselves, but she's never dealt with more than one. I think that Jasper and I can effectively bring her down if we work together," She explained.

"Oh no you don't! Who do you think you are, just barging in on us like that?" Edward said, translating for an angry Seth, who was growling furiously. I placed a hand on his arm, sending out soothing emotions to him.

"Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to be in harm's way. I've learned stuff about my gift - I can control as many people's emotions and feel them over distances longer than you can smell," I replied, smiling. I could feel the uncomfortable emotions from everyone as they waited for someone to break the silence. To tell me that I was too young to be involved with this. To tell me I was useless. Not anymore. "I don't care what you say about my being so young. There's no way I'm just going to sit back and take a chance of one of my family being hurt. From either side." I said, effectively laying down where I was on the matter.

"I don't like it. But if it's a sure way to stop Victoria..." Muttered Carlisle. There were uneasy glances from all sides, but a grim determination was replacing the hostile emotions of me entering battle.

"How much longer do we have, Alice?" Edward asked, smiling bitterly at Bella, who, as always, looked utterly bewildered.

"Oh, just about two weeks. We still have Christmas at least," Alice trilled.

"See you then," Elizabeth answered, vanishing.

At that point, things started to relax. It seemed like everyone was coming to grips with what was going to take place. And yet, there was something going on, in the corner of my eye, that I wasn't paying much attention to. a shiver ran down my spine, and I turned quickly, finding myself face to face with Brady, who had phased into his human form. Some of the wolves were growling, particularly Collin, but I ignored it. Seth phased and advanced towards us, putting his hand on my arm.

"Come on," He said, tugging, but I was stone. And no matter how much he tried, there was no way he was going to move me. My granite skin must have been colder than normal, because he let go, rather quickly.

"I'll be there momentarily my love," I said, pecking him on the cheek. The other wolves turned to go, but Collin lingered, growling once in my direction before disappearing. When I glanced around, even the Cullen's had gone. "So. Hi Brady." I smiled, holding my hand out. He looked at it for a moment, as though struggling with something, and I could tell by his emotions that he was conflicted, but after a moment, he shook it all the same.

"Hi. Look, I wanted to apologize for the last time we actually talked. I mean the picnic. I didn't mean to be so rude or hateful. It's just...," He trailed off, looking at the ground.

"I know," I said gently, and watched his reaction carefully, judging on how to proceed. He looked startled for a moment before smiling painfully and weak.

"You do?"

"Brady, I've known since I felt your emotions for the first time. There's no way that you'd go under my radar. I'm still surprised that Seth didn't say anything."

"I kind of asked him not to. See, I'm the best at controlling my thoughts in the pack. I've learned to block off sections of my mind. Sam is good at that too. But Seth was there when I phased for the first time, and I begged him to not say anything," He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. They'd never talked about the mind-link thing with me.

"Well, basically, we can hear each other's thoughts and emotions, we can pull images from memories and share them. And a lot of them can't keep things blocked, but I can. I've been able to keep out the fact that I'm gay."

"Brady, sometimes we have to own up to who we are," I began, and he nodded somberly.

"I know, Seth's told me before. It's just... it's hard. All of my family, they're homophobic. Even my best friend, Collin is too. They wouldn't accept it. I just really look up to you because you don't care what they think - you're true to yourself. It's admirable." He said.

"I understand. One of my brother's, he didn't think much about me because I'm gay, and when we were young, he would beat me from encouragement of my real dad. When I came out, my brother told me that he thought I was just a stupid bitch and slapped me. My mom took care of him," I paused, smiling at the dark images from my past. "But once I came out, I began to realize that it doesn't matter what people think about you. You have really good friends Brady. I don't think that they are the kind of people who would disown you just because you're a homosexual. Things might get rough at first, but they _will_ get better, I promise you that much. I really appreciate you talking to me like this, and I want you to know that if you ever need anything at all, you can come to Seth and I." I said, and I was truly sincere about it.

"Thanks. For having this talk with me." He said. And then he started crying. It made me almost start sobbing, but I was able to hold myself together for him, especially when he walked over to hug me.

"Shh. It'll be okay," I said soothingly. When he finally calmed down, he smiled largely at me.

"Do you think you could do me a favor?" He asked. "As a Christmas gift?"

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" I asked eagerly.

"Can you help me to come out to everyone?"

XXX

It was Christmas Day. We'd gone to Sam's house, and as Seth had explained to me before we got there, we were going to exchange gifts prior to eating. I hadn't told him about the details of the talk I'd had with Brady, but I figured he had the gist of it when Brady smiled at me. I hadn't told him my plans for pulling him out of the closet either. There wasn't a theme, so all of the pack was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, while Kim and Emily were wearing sweaters and jeans. I'd worn a simple beige v-neck sweater with a white button up underneath and a pair of black slacks.

As we gathered in Sam's tiny living room to exchange gifts, I winked at Brady, who headed to the bathroom. When he came back, everyone was staring curiously as he entered the tiny room, dressed in a full suit, and came to stand next to me.

"So, I don't actually have a gift to give anyone other than some knowledge," Brady started, and some of them rolled their eyes, but paid attention nonetheless. "I had a self-revelation quite a few years back, and up until recently, I've kept that from everyone." He said, and I could tell he was going to choke, so I stepped in.

"Brady came to me because he was afraid. You see, he's afraid of not being treated the same anymore. He's afraid of not being loved the way he is now. That's why he's kept everything a secret," I said, and there were a few looks of shock and concern, but I could tell that no one was going to see this coming. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my proud honor to reveal to you that Brady Fuller, pack member, is gay."

It went dead quiet for a moment. There were very shocked looks from everyone, and one highly angry face - Collin. Oh no.

"You're. Gay." He said, breathing heavily. "Why. The. Hell. Didn't. You. Tell. Me?" He demanded.

"I... I was afraid. But no more. I'm going to be true to who I am whether you all like it or not!" He said. I could see the scared little kid that he was starting to come through, and I put a hand on his shoulder. It happened very quickly. One moment, Collin was on the ground, and the next, he was up in Brady's face, literally inches away from him.

"Collin," I warned, and he ignored me. But then, the emotions changed to sadness, and Collin threw his arms around Brady, hugging him. There was applause and then Brady and Collin excused themselves.

The rest of the gifts were exchanged, including a joke from Paul, who had hunted down a deer for my Christmas dinner.

"Thanks Paul, you shouldn't have," I said, laughing along with the others. And then something happened that I hadn't been expecting. Seth's gift.

"My turn," He said grinning. The rest of the pack exchanged knowing smirks and then turned to look at me, and I felt out of the loop. It was kind of irritating.

"Jasper Whitlock, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. You're kind and loving and beautiful. The last year that I've known you has been a wonderful time." As he spoke, I felt the emotions change into euphoria from everyone and anticipation from most. I saw Brady and Collin walk back in, smiling hugely when they saw what was happening. Seth dropped to his knee, and my mouth dropped into an 'o'. "Jasper Whitlock. Will you marry me, and make me the happiest person on Earth?"


	18. Gifts

A/N: So firstly, big thanks to those that came back or might be new, particularly to Sarah 3 By the way, Hank's Lady contributed some of the knowledge for this chapter, so props go to her. Furthermore, this one is more of a fluffer. Don't be surprised when the plot comes slamming back in. I seriously hope you all enjoy it :D Also, reviews inspire, so make sure to leave a note, whether good or bad, down at the bottom :)

XXX

"I... Absolutely!" I screamed. Engaged! I was engaged! I was going to be married! To the one I loved the most! Oh my God!

He slipped the perfect circle representing our love onto my finger and I thought I was going to faint - or at least I would have if I'd still been human. I held it close, getting a good look at it. It was silver on the side facing me and white-gold on the side facing out. In the middle, along the sides, were encrusted diamonds, and in the very center was a larger, heart-shaped diamond. It was gorgeous. And it must have cost a fortune. I felt something on the inside of the ring... was that an engraving? I moved to examine it, but I felt my body being wrapped into Seth's warm embrace. Oh God. I was so happy. I wanted to hold onto this moment for forever. I leaned up, and placed a ginormous kiss onto his lips, and he grinned in response while our lips were still locked to each other. There we stood, frozen for eternity. I had never felt so happy, or so loved. And then, we heard Paul snort, and we broke apart, still holding onto the other.

I felt something being slipped into my pocket, and I grinned. My actual present was waiting outside. But first, I wasn't letting my fiancee out of my sight without the companion ring on his finger. I winked at Emily who pretended not to notice anything while I removed a small black velvet ring box out of the safety of my pocket and into the prying eyes of the pack at large. When I dropped to my knees, there were whoops and a few chuckles. Guess I knew who the girl was considered to be, I thought darkly but also humorously.

"Seth Clearwater. Words cannot describe how immensely happy you've made me, and even before today, I was a very, very happy and lucky creature. To say that I'm going to be intertwined with my love forever is just an understatement. Then again, you can't say words like destiny and fate without sounding corny. So I'll leave it to this," I said, slipping on the companion ring. It was identical, albeit a bit larger for his fingers.

"Okay people, food," Sam said almost impatiently after a few moments. I was glad that they had given us a few moments to enjoy the special occasion. I couldn't believe I was engaged!

"Wait, what about _your_ gift?" Seth asked, and grinned impishly.

"You'll get it after dinner. You'll want to, believe me," I told him, and I could feel the anticipation growing larger and larger. When we went outside for food, and I hid behind a tree to drink my deer, I was trying to think of ways to keep him from racing off.

Finally, after everyone finished eating, he slipped his hand into mine.

"Now?" He asked, and I nodded, but I pulled out a blindfold, winking at him. He groaned as I tied it onto him and made sure that he couldn't see anything before I grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let's go!" I said, kissing his cheek. I led us out to the front, where, beside his old truck, I'd had Edward help me out a bit by bring by his gift. There were gasps from everyone and I winked at them to keep them quiet.

"Now!" I said, ripping off the blindfold. There was a moment of hesitation, as he was blinded from the sunlight, but then he saw what I'd gotten him.

"Oh. My. GOD!" He screamed, running towards it. "How on earth did you manage this?" He yelled at me, and I grinned impishly.

"You got me something I really wanted, and I managed this," I said, smiling brightly. My gift to him, was a brand new, dark blue Nissan GT-R.

"But, I mean, they haven't even released this in America yet!" He said, almost jumping with excitement. "Where are the keys?" He asked, glancing at me.

"In the ignition," I said, and he threw the door open - well, not entirely. Actually, he was being extremely careful around this thing. I sighed internally; men and their cars. I'd never understand it. The rest of the guys were circling around the car now, highly interested.

I kept back, standing with Brady, Kim, and Emily as the boys did their thing. They looked like birds of prey to me, the way that their were circling.

"Nice job," Emily said appreciatively to me, and Kim agreed.

"Thanks," Brady said, hugging me. Wow, that was different. I wasn't used to having physical contact with anyone other than Seth. I didn't know what to do for a moment before wrapping my arms around him and just going with it. When the hug broke, I smiled at him and gave him a wink as Collin walked up, clearly bored with the car before them.

"Come on, we're going to do something tonight," Collin said to Brady, who raised an eyebrow, confused.

"On Christmas Day? No one's open!" Brady protested, but Collin punched his shoulder lightly and laughed.

"We're not going out," He said. "You're coming over!" I smiled as they disappeared into the house and then suddenly found myself locked in a kiss and embrace from my fiancee.

"You, me, drive, now." Seth said, almost impatiently.

"Okay okay, calm down," I told him, laughing. I was in the passenger seat before he could move. When he got in and cranked the engine, it purred like a jungle cat. Or rather, that's how Seth described it, almost whining from happiness.

"How the hell did you manage this?" Seth asked as we flew out of the driveway.

"Long story," I said, smiling to myself.

-FLASHBACK-

"Hey, can I talk to you?" I asked, walking into the Edward's room, he and Bella cuddling on the couch.

"Sure, what's up?" Edward asked, his face already reading my thoughts.

"I really want to get Seth something for Christmas, and he's been going on and on about this car... I think it's a Nissan GT-R or something like that. Anyway, he said that he's really wanted one. Do you think that Carlisle would be willing to loan me the money?" I asked, and Edward started laughing hysterically, to which I felt wounded.

"What?" I questioned indignantly. He grinned maniacally before answering.

"Carlisle will give you whatever you want. Just ask him," Edward informed me, before returning to Bella's cuddling. At this, I found myself wondering about, attempting to locate Carlisle's study. I found it finally, a huge set of doors. I knocked, and he answered immediately.

"Come in," He called. I walked in slowly, taking in the sight before me. He was seated at a desk, reading a rather magnificent tomb of a book. He glanced up as I shut the door, smiling.

"Jasper. What can I do for you?" He asked, his tone sincere. Wow, something tells me Edward was telling the truth. He was so... kind.

"Well... Seth has been going on about wanting to get this new car. It's a Nissan GT-R, and I know a new one is upwards around $100,000. I really want to do this for Christmas, but I don't have any money..." He interrupted me just as I was about to present my question.

"Of course. We'll go tomorrow," Carlisle said without hesitation.

"You're sure?" I started, almost in awe.

"Absolutely. You're a part of the family now!" He beamed at me.

"Thank you Carlisle. Seriously, thank you so much," I said, and he nodded.

When I got back to Seth, who was still asleep, I nudged him over gently enough to get back into my regular position before settling down for the nightly wait.

The next morning, Seth got up and started to stretch. He smiled and kissed me.

"Good morning beautiful," He said.

"My life," I answered, kissing him. His eyes twinkled as we broke apart, and he took up my hand.

"Don't be mad at me, but I had something I need to do today. I promised Jake about a month ago," He said, and I attempted to look concerned.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to go?" I asked. I seriously hoped he would say no. I needed SOMETHING to get away from him to go with Carlisle.

"No, it's not something you would be interested in anyway. Car repairing," He said. I rolled my eyes before kissing him lightly.

"Okay, just come home in one piece," I conceded.

I met Carlisle in his study thirty minutes later, with Seth gone to do his thing with Jacob.

"Ready?" He asked, and I nodded, enthused.

"Alright. We have two options - a, swim to Japan and b, catch a flight from Seattle to Hawaii and from Hawaii to Japan,"

"I'd rather be as safe as possible," I said, and we both started laughing.

"Alright, I'd already bought the tickets anyway," He said, winking.

The flights were nothing compared to what I was expecting, and I was enthralled when I realized that Carlisle had managed to haggle the price down to about 75,000 at the dealership. But obviously, these people knew who he was. Everyone was muttering 'Kyūketsuki'. From the small amount of Japanese I'd absorbed from the little dictionary I'd brought to study on the flights, I realized that they were saying 'vampire'. Apparently, money isn't an issue when you think that a vampire is in your place of business. I wonder what they would have thought if Seth phased in front of them...

With the order placed, and Carlisle promising that it would arrive in Seattle in a week and be kept there until Christmas Eve, I found myself a very happy vampire.

-END FLASHBACK-

"That was the day that I went to pick out our rings," He said, smiling.

"Oh really?" I asked, and it made sense now. "But who did you get the money from?" I asked curiously.

"Esme," He said laughing, and the rationality of it hit me so hard that I started laughing too.

I don't know how long we drove. It might have been to the ends of the Earth. But we finally came to a stop, the sun down, outside of a huge hotel. Some place called the Heraldton, and I'd never seen it before.

"Where are we?" I asked as we got out of the vehicle.

"Los Angeles," He said simply.

"YOU DROVE US TO LA?" I said incredulously.

"Tell me about it," He said, patting the car. The valet parking man had just pulled up, and his eyes were bulging out of his head a bit. He was older, definitely in his fifties, and his oiled black hair was turning gray in a few spots.

"IF I find so much as a HAIR on this car when we check out, you're dead," Seth said. That brought the valet driver up short. He composed himself and nodded.

"Yes sirs, of course sirs," He said, and his voice gave me the shivers.

"Oh, who's your senior?" I asked, and he fidgeted a bit before jamming his thumb back at a man in his sixties, wearing a white suit and the red valet vest, carrying a cane. And he seemed SO much more professional and trustworthy than this slimeball in front of us.

"Mr. Jackson Bartlett," He said.

"Well then, would you kindly ask Mr. Bartlett to join us over here?" I asked nicely, and the man turned and nearly ran to get the older man.

"What can I do for you sirs?" Mr. Bartlett asked. His voice was even one of those that you could trust by the level of honesty inside of the words that he formed.

"Could you do me a favor?" I asked, and he nodded his head. "I want you to put this car somewhere safe. Keep it out of reach of the other guests and make sure that YOU are the only person aside from myself or my fiancee here to touch it." He looked almost shocked, but nodded all the same. "It's a Christmas and engagement gift," I added, and he nodded again.

We watched as the old man got into the Nissan carefully, and the way he was acting, it reminded me of Seth.

"Please don't turn out like him," I muttered, to which Seth's booming laughs carried throughout the parking lot and outside lobby of the hotel.

The hotel man, dressed in a very fine-tailored tuxedo complete with silk red tie, eyed us with a look of distrust and distaste. He was obviously the manager, and the gold name plate on his lapel told me so. As we approached the desk, he changed his looks to a smile - a false one, but better than the sneer he'd worn before.

"Good evening sirs, to the Heraldton. Unfortunately, we are completely out..." He began, but I cut him off.

"No, you're not. You don't trust us, I can tell. Now then, I want a large one bedroom, one bathroom suite, for a full nights stay. We'll check out at noon tomorrow," I said eerily, allowing my powers to swim out before me, overtaking him.

"Yes sirs. Um... where's Maya?" He drawled to the young man beside him. He raised an eyebrow, but called to a woman named Maya to come to the desk. Merida was a very fluid looking woman, whose skin tone told that she was part Hispanic in some way. "Maya, take these gentlemen to room 2511," He said, handing her a little card with the room keys. We walked to the elevators, at which Maya pulled out a little green card that she pressed beside the up button. I heard a whirring sound, and moments later, the lift opened before us, revealing an empty elevator box.

"My name is Maya Garcia," Maya said, her last name and slight accent giving away the fact that she was Hispanic in some way shape or form. The elevator door clanged shut and we began to rise.

"Shane and Jack," Seth said, and I raised an eyebrow at him, but he gave me a look that said 'not now'. I nodded and remained silent for the rest of the trip.

"This way," Maya said, flipping her long black hair behind her shoulder and leading us to the hallway. We were in the very far corner, but there was only one door near us, and it was at the least fifty feet down the aisle.

"Enjoy your stay at the Heraldton," Maya said, passing the room keys to me.

As we entered the room, Seth went along, turning on lights and we took in the scene before us. A ginormous bed stood in the middle of the room, a sixty-inch flat screen TV dominated the right wall, while a balcony lined the far wall. There was a bathroom door to the left of us, and I realized that everything was decorated in white, silver, and gold. We were literally sitting in the lap of luxury. I seriously hoped that Carlisle didn't kill us for wasting his money on a hotel room.

We walked to the bed and sat down, sinking among the deep silk sheets and comforter, the feather-bed mattress under us sighing as we shifted. I reached for Seth's hand at the same time that he reached for mine. It was hard for me to think about the last year. I'd been seventeen. I'd met the love of my life, and I'd moved states. I'd lost my former life, but gained a new one, and I'd reconciled with my old family while have two large ones to make up for the losses that I'd sustained. I couldn't believe it. I looked at Seth, who was watching me.

"I love you," I said, and he grinned kissing me.

"Just not as much as I love you," He answered after a long moment.

"I don't think so," I said smirking. "I think that the imprint makes you a bit biased," I smiled playfully.

"Oh, I'll show you!" He said, reaching to tear off my shirt, his lips crashing into mine.


	19. Worried

A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I was actually a bit concerned on how it would turn out, but I guess it went okay! I hope you'll enjoy this one. It has a bit of a surprise in it, and it didn't even hit me until this afternoon (3:44). Let me know what you think! As always, reviews inspire faster writing and updating! :D Also, the introduction of a few characters are in here that will be brought back into play after the fight.

XXX

The next morning came far too quickly. I was in a euphoria from the night before, and even though he was asleep, Seth was too, and his emotions were influencing his dreams. As the sun peaked into our room from the horizon, there was a very soft knock on the door. I moved as gently and quickly as I could without waking Seth up, and was at the door within seconds.

I peered through the peep hole, and found myself looking at a very small kid. He had to have been seven or eight, scrawny as hell, and he looked like he'd been crying.

I unchained the door and opened it, dropping on my knees and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hi there," I said as calmly as I could without sounding too worried. He was silent, rubbing his eyes and tears were starting to appear again. I willed my powers to fall over him, willing that he be calm enough to talk to me. It didn't take long before he looked at me finally.

"Hi," I said again, smiling. "Is everything okay?"

"I... I don't know... where am I?" He asked, his tiny voice quivering. He was lost, I realized, glancing up and down the halls. He was dressed nicely, a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. He hadn't been lost for long, not with how clean he was. His blond hair would've appeared dirty if he had been. His blue eyes were flashing back and forth between both of my eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," I said soothingly. "You're in a hotel, the Heraldton hotel. Where did you come from?" I asked, trying to sound friendly. I assessed his emotions as I spoke. Aside from the obvious influence from my gift, there was distress and deep sorrow in there.

"I don't know... mommy and daddy were with me... and my big brother was too, and then there was some fighting. And this man with a mask and a gun hurt mommy and daddy went after him, but he shot daddy too, and my brother held me back," He said, and it was such an effort to try to keep him calm that I was having to breathe shallowly.

"Where's your brother?" I asked, and he shook his head, closing his eyes. He couldn't remember. Such a innocent little boy. He'd just had his parents ripped away from him, he was traumatized and in shock. "Hey, come here," I said, opening my arms. He looked at me scared for a second but then he ran into them, and I lost my gift's control. It snapped back and he was sobbing into my shoulder.

"Shh," I soothed, rubbing his back with my free hand. "Seth." I called, closing the door. As I sat the boy down onto a chair, he jolted up, eyes startled, taking in the scene.

"What on earth!?" He asked, and I shot him a look. I pulled him into the other room, and explained quickly. He nodded and then went to grab the phone, but I staid his hand. "Jas, we have to call the cops." He said seriously, and for a moment, we both listened to the sniffles that were coming from the little boy in our room.

"Listen," I said, and aside from the sniffles, it appeared to be very quiet for a moment, and then we realized that there were sirens outside of the hotel. "I think his brother must be down there." I rationalized.

"Fine, but we're ditching him as soon as we find him,"

"Not on my life," I said angrily, and when Seth caught my glare, he nodded.

"Okay," He said. For once, I was glad that we'd been dressed before actually knocking out, or this would have been super awkward.

As I made my way back into the room, I knelt down beside the boy, taking his hand in mine.

"Hey there. What's your name?" I asked nicely. He looked up at me again, but this time secretively as though he didn't trust me. "You can trust me." I said, willing him to.

"Gage," He said after a moment of hesitation.

"Okay Gage. Do you feel like coming with us? We're going to see if we can find your brother," I said, and he blinked a few times up at me.

"Okay," He answered. As we waited for Seth to finish getting ready, I felt Gage tug my hand and I looked down at him.

"Yes?"

"How old are you?" He asked me.

"I'm twenty," I said, lying a bit. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him. "How old are you?" I asked.

"I'm seven," He told me, smiling. As Seth came into the hall, everything ready, I opened the door, and as I started out, Gage grabbed my hand. I held his back as we walked to the elevators, pressing the down button.

When the elevator came to a screeching halt, I looked over to see he was holding Seth's hand as well. How cute, I thought. As the elevator doors opened, an older woman, three younger ladies, and two men were in there already. I saw the older lady give us a sickened look before pointedly getting off the elevator, followed by one of the young women. I walked into the elevator with my husband-to-be and Gage, and pressed the button for the lobby.

"Rude," I heard one of the guys say behind me as we sped downward. I smiled my thanks to him in the reflective surface of the elevator.

As we went down, we lost both of the guys, and a few more down, the other two women got off, leaving the three of us. Finally, the doors opened, revealing there to be cops everywhere, and reporters outside of the lobby, trying to get in. I made sure I still had a grip on Gage's hand before we walked out, scanning the room. Gage screamed out "Adam!" and took off towards a boy who appeared to be much older than Gage, but they looked nearly identical. Adam, who I took to be Gage's brother, ran towards Gage, picking him up and hugging him tightly.

"Where the hell did you go!? Don't EVER do that to me again!" He gasped, crying. I looked at Seth, and we started towards them. But before we got to them, a cop had already intercepted us.

"Sorry, you're not allowed over here," He said. I glared darkly at the officer, who looked frightened for a moment.

"The little boy, his name is Gage. He was found by us on the twenty-fifth floor. I think that, seeing as how we brought him down, and that he's told us what happened, we should be allowed to see them," I said, layering on my gift.

"Yes sirs, sorry sirs," He said, moving out of the way.

We made it to the boys, where they were still at, hugging and crying.

"Adam?" I asked, and his eyes opened. They were a very clear blue color, and I almost felt like he was looking right through me.

"Yeah?" He asked, immediately defensive. I sighed internally, wishing that he would calm down.

"Adam, my name is Jasper, and this is Seth. We found Gage up on the twenty-fifth floor, outside of our room. The poor thing was scared to death. He told us what... what transpired," I finished, and I could see the pain in his eyes and I could feel it slipping out of him. He was a ticking emotional time-bomb.

"Thanks," He answered weakly. "For bringing him."

"It's no problem. How old are you?" I asked, honestly curious.

"Fifteen," He answered. I glanced at Seth, who's look told me that I was heading down the long road of pain and misery, but I shook it off.

"Do you have any family aside from your mom and dad?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"No, both of my parents were only children, and our grandparents died long ago,"

"Okay. So I know that you'll probably have to deal with DSS for a while, but I'll be in touch okay? If you need me, I want you to call the first number in this," I told him, handing him a tiny silver phone that we all carried with us for emergencies. Unlimited calling.

He took the phone, looking at it, and then back at me curiously.

"Thanks... I guess," He said, his eyes darting back and forth between Seth and I. I hadn't realized that, unconsciously, we'd been holding hands. He must have caught the sight of our rings too, because he visibly seemed to relax. "I'll give you a call as soon as things settle down."

"Alright." I answered, smiling gently. I found the nearest cop I could, and grabbed his arm.

"You. I want you to escort myself and my fiancee, along with these two to the nearest DSS building. I WILL make sure that they are taken care of," I said. The cop nodded, and I walked with Seth, keeping a firm eye on Adam and Gage. Gage had wound up crying himself to sleep, and I ruffled his hair as Mr. Jackson Bartlett went to retrieve Seth's car. Just as the GT-R came into sight, the cop car pulled up. I glanced once at Adam, who's eyes were lit up with enthusiasm at the sight of the Nissan, and I rolled my eyes.

The boys got in the back of the car and Seth and I in the front, and the lights went on as we followed them through LA.

"Where do you live?" Adam asked as we sped down the highway.

"We live in Washington. A tiny little town called Forks," I told him.

"What's it like, up there?" He wanted to know. Curious, the both of them.

"It rains. Nearly all the time," I said. I looked back at them, and I saw that Adam must have been thinking. His brow was furrowed, the wheels turning, but it must have been too much for him at the moment. His head turned to look out the window, and within minutes, he was sleeping just like his brother.

"This is never going to work," Seth said after a while, pulling into the parking lot of a big gray building that said "Department of Social Services, Los Angeles," on it.

"You won't know unless you try," I retorted. "Okay, Adam, Gage, we're here. Come on, wake up," I said, smiling at the bleary-eyed kids.

As we walked into the building, a woman at the desk rolled her eyes at us. Great. Another freaking homophobe.

"What can I do for you?" She asked, and I realized immediately that this woman was disgusting. She had the voice of a smoker and a drunk, and shesmelled like cocaine.

"These two just lost their parents. They need somewhere to stay for a while. Can you handle that?" I asked, and she looked confounded for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose so, but aren't the police supposed to handle this-"

"Normally, but I wanted to ensure that they would be treated justly and right," I returned.

"Yes, okay. Jane," The woman said over her shoulder. Jane, a woman with blond hair, who appeared to be a much nicer creature than the other, appeared in the door way. She smiled lightly at us, and then at the boys.

"Come along this way. I'll make sure you find a room," But they hesitated a moment.

"Do... Do we have to go?" Adam asked, looking at me and Seth questioningly.

"Only for a little bit," I answered confidently. I smiled as they walked through the door, looking back at us.

"I'll make sure they're taken care of," Jane said sincerely.

"Thank you," I said as she disappeared. "You had better make sure that they are provided for one hundred percent. Or so help me God, if I hear that one HAIR on either of their heads is harmed you'll be out of a job. Immediately," I snarled at the woman behind the desk. She looked positively frightened, nodding silently. "Oh. And stop drinking and doing drugs and smoking. It really isn't healthy." I said as Seth and I walked out the door.

"Jas, I really think that we need to talk about this," Seth said as we got into the Nissan.

"I know. I just had to be sure that they were being taken care of," I answered.

"Do you honestly think that we can handle a family? We're not even married yet. Plus, you lied to Gage about how old you are. And on top of that, Victoria is supposed to be invading with an army of newborns within the next week!"

"I know. I know. I know," I said, glaring at him. "But I'm NOT going to let them just sit in DSS. You saw how they were looking at us. They're too young to have been affected like this. I can't stand the thoughts of them not having a family..." I trailed off, and Seth sighed. The car settled into silence, and we made our way towards the interstate.


	20. Not According to the Plan

A/N: I hear you, don't worry. Just don't take anything under preconceptions when it comes to the kids.

XXX

As we sped home, I realized that Seth's words were truer than he meant - we literally had a giant war coming up within days. And to top it off, we hadn't heard from Elizabeth since the last time that she had appeared. What about this 'master plan' of hers that involved the both of us using our powers to stop her?

I speculated the entire ride home, and just barely noticed when Seth pulled the car to a stop outside of the Cullen place. I noted, almost immediately when I came back into focus, that something was wrong. The air was sinister, the emotions, boiling. I wonder what had happened.

I held Seth's hand as we walked into the house, finding that the entire family, plus a few people that I didn't recognize were gathered in the front room. Who were they? When they turned, I saw that they had red eyes, and the scarlet reminded me of the human blood that I constantly fought. The smallest one was a little blond girl, who contemplated us with a look of contempt and disgust, particularly when it came to seeing our intertwined hands. The other three gathered near her, eyes flashing between our faces, our hands, the girl, and Carlisle.

"Who are you?" She asked, her beautiful voice striking in comparison with the malice in her eyes and emotions.

"Jasper, and this is Seth," I answered truthfully. The be honest, something about the girl frightened me. She noticed when I gripped Seth's hand a tiny bit tighter than I had been.

"Are you scared?" She asked, a playful tone in her voice. I wasn't even able to answer, but I nodded. I hadn't been this badly afraid since I'd transformed. What was going on here?

"Pain," She said, and suddenly, every part of my body felt like it was being ripped apart. It was like stabbing fire, electrified knives, all throughout my being. I wasn't aware of anything around me. I just wanted it to stop. I was a slight bit aware that I was screaming, and then, just as soon as it started, it stopped. As I regained composure and looked around, I saw that Seth, knees buckled, was in the same state that I had been, but he wasn't screaming. His face was a complete mask of pain and torture. I wrapped my arms around him, and I could feel the overwhelming sorrow rising in me.

"Stop! Please stop!" I begged. There was nothing more that I wanted than for my love to be away from this madwoman.

"Jane, that's enough," Spoke a boy from behind her. I caught sight of his face, and it startled me at how much alike they appeared.

"Of course, Alec. I was only having a bit of fun," She mused. As her attention shifted, I noticed that Seth's mask of pain faded away and he gripped my hand. I glanced at him long enough to make sure that he was okay and then looked horrified at Jane.

I saw Edward's face and his eyes told a rather quick command - BE CALM. I turned to Seth and attempted to reiterate the same message, but he was too shocked and angry. I forced my gift upon him, wishing him to relax. It took a few moments, but he did just the same.

"Now then, onto business," Jane grinned evilly.

"What can we do for you, Jane," Carlisle said. It wasn't a question, and I could tell that Carlisle was as anxious to be away from this vampire as we were.

"You will not take part in this upcoming battle," Jane said quietly. "You will leave it to the Volturi to handle."

"This isn't your fight," Edward said, but Jane's icy glare silenced him; something told me that he had felt her fire before.

"Nor is it yours. You will not fight," Jane said again.

"But it is. Victoria wants to avenge the death of her mate, so she's targeting Bella," Alice said. Jane glared at her, but continued to let her speak. "We have insider information - Victoria's sister, Elizabeth, is going to help us bring her down. I've seen the outcome." She winked.

"Whatever the case may be-" Jane began, but Carlisle cut her off.

"Jane, no disrespect to the Volturi, but this is our territory. If Aro so desperately wishes to keep us out of the fight, then he must come himself. I do not take orders from vampires so young as yourselves," He said, and Jane's swagger suddenly diminished. She looked closed off, and then glanced at Bella.

"Very well. I think that my masters will be very interested to hear that this one is still human," She said, gesturing to Bella. "And Caius will be so pleased that a member of your coven has chosen a werewolf for his mate." Seth growled, but said nothing.

They filed out of the room silently and slowly, barely raising any wind as they went. We waited for what felt like a century before anything happened.

"What on Earth was THAT?" I asked and the tension in the room broke into relief.

"That was Jane, Alec, Dimitri, and Felix," Carlisle said. "Pawns of the Volturi, who are sort of... royalty to our kind." He rushed to fill us in on what we needed to know. Jane had the gift to torture people, but she could only focus on one object, and it was purely subconscious - she didn't cause any physical harm to the body, but the emotional trauma was enough to drive some mad. Her twin, Alec, had a similar gift, but he could completely cut off the senses and do multiple people at one time. Dimitri was a tracker who could sense the essence of some people's minds, and Felix was... well, to be perfectly honest, Felix was only a bodyguard, slightly like Emmett.

"So what are they doing here?" Seth demanded.

"It's their 'duty' persay to protect our world, and that includes taking out the newborn army themselves," Carlisle said.

"But we're more equipped to handle this kind of thing," Seth argued.

"The Volturi have been around for longer than even myself," Carlisle said darkly, his voice would have sent chills down my spine if I'd been a human.

"So we just sit back and let them handle things?" I asked vaguely, surprised almost that things would wind up going without a hitch.

"No. They'll wait until we take care of things and then they'll... dictate the outcome," Alice said, her eyes losing focus on the present and dipping into the future. She was always so creepy when she did that.

"How long do we have?" Emmett asked.

"Sunday," Edward and Alice said at the same time. One week. Oh no.

"Let's try to not dwell on it," Esme interrupted the brooding silence that had overcome everyone. "Come on. When was the last time we all went hunting?"

"Been a while," Rose murmured, looking out the window distractedly.

"Not with Bella. I'll take her home," Edward sped, pulling Bella into his arms and flew out the door. I rolled my eyes. Rosalie was right. It had been a while since we'd all been hunting. My eyes were already turning black and I'd just had the deer from Paul yesterday.

* * *

That week proved to be a very long one. The waiting was almost unendurable. Elizabeth showed up the day prior to New Year's, and stayed with us. When we gathered ourselves to head to the clearing the next day, she assumed the lead - she knew her sister the best, knew where she would lead the army.

"I hope you've been working on your gift," She said nonchalantly to me, an obvious challenge. I grinned at her.

"You bet," I answered playfully.

"Good." From then on, there was no conversation. Seth had phased to let the pack know that it was time to move.

The clearing was deep in the forests. Edward and Bella had taken a different route, and would be staying on the mountain behind us along with Jacob and Embry. Seth was still uneasy about having me so close to the fight, but I smiled reassuringly at him, patting his shoulder blades a few times, rubbing him behind his ears, and even once kissing his nose.

"It's time," Alice called. Suddenly everyone was on red alert. I could feel the anticipation and excitement and worry from each individual. Even Elizabeth, whose gift was stronger than mine, couldn't contain her anxiety.

"Let's try this," I said to Elizabeth, grabbing her hand. I didn't know why, but I thought the physical touch would increase our gift's strength. She glared down at me for a moment before linking our fingers, ignoring the irritated growl from Seth. I focused, closing my eyes.

"Calm," We said at the same time. I could feel our powers combining strength. Suddenly, the entire valley was encased in a serene almost nirvana-like state.

"Pinpoint," Elizabeth muttered to me. I felt our gifts tug and I let my mind forget about everything else. We forced our gifts out, slowly on my part and dragging me along on hers. The serenity that had filled the clearing slowly vanished from the others. When the first newborns entered the field, I knew that we had this in the bag. Each newborn, who had previously been feeling excited and full of blood lust suddenly became highly lethargic. Slim pickings, I thought to myself.

"She's not here!" Alice cried, breaking my concentration. I felt the gift bound back to me and Elizabeth and I opened our eyes, suddenly realizing that we had been surrounded by newborns.

"What!?" I shouted to her. But I was a bit preoccupied. I sped my gift around me in a full circle, encasing each of the newborn vampires. There was no way I would be taking their lives. "Give in," I nearly commanded.

One of them, a large blond with crimson colored eyes was staring at me dangerously. I heard Elizabeth spin out of the circle through a hole behind me and I shuddered involuntarily.

No.

The blond lunged and I forgot all of my thoughts about controlling the newborns.

I ducked tucking into a roll underneath his spiraling body, and lunged out with my legs, kicking him in the stomach. He fell outside of the circle with a sickening _crunch_. Next came a redhead with straighter hair than a model. She lunged at me with her teeth, but I managed to sidestep her. I shoved her in the back towards the other newborns, who flung her backward.

Victoria had known, I realized.

Just then, Seth came barreling towards me, his teeth clenching onto a small guy with jet black hair who had been creeping up on me. Elizabeth in turn took down the one with creamy skin, and I fought hard to ignore the grinding of rock that came from the newborns being ripped up.

My eyes locked with the vampire in front of me. His eyes were a burning red, and he was full of confusion and hurt and pain. He didn't want to fight.

"Hello?" I said uncertainly, and he stared at me as if not believing me. I knew that he didn't. After all, he'd just lost the group of newborns he had probably been bitten with. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" He said, glancing back and forth between me and the rest of the scene going on around us.

"Listen to me. I was a vegetarian when I was a human. I know the value of life. I'm still 'vegetarian' now. I drink animal blood. That's why I have golden eyes," I explained as quickly as possible, smiling. If there was a way to save even him, I would.

That face... why was it so familiar? The way that his hair swept over his eyes... I couldn't place it.

Wait. That look. I recognized that look. Oh my God. Jay. This was Jay!

"Jay?" I asked, and his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "It's me, Jasper!" I said almost exuberantly. I saw him searching through his memories, trying to put two and two together. Sifting through muddy water to find a rock, I thought.

"Oh my God!" He gasped.

"Jasper!" Someone called, and I turned to find Carlisle, Esme, and Elizabeth standing there, looking horribly confused.

"Carlisle, this is Jay. I knew him as a human. Please take care of him," I instructed, catching Elizabeth's eyes. We had a vampire to track down. A wild killing machine.

I grabbed her hand and we sped off, leaving no sign that we'd been in the clearing. The fights had pretty much come to an end. A few more of the newborns had given in and were standing in a small circle near Carlisle and Esme. As we made our way across the mountainous terrain, I watched Elizabeth. She was so... fierce. Almost like a cat, but of course of human. But even then, she was a vampire. It made no sense.

"Stop," She told me, raising an eyebrow at my feelings.

"Sorry," I answered to her humor.

"Come. Let's take care of my sister," She said. We came to a halting stop about a couple hundred feet up the mountain, and I found ourselves on the ledge of a cliff, looking down on the scene unfolding below us. Two vampires, one clearly Victoria because of the fiery hair, and another that I'd never seen were cornering Edward.

"Now," I said, and we sent out our gifts toward the both of them. They were rendered almost useless immediately.

Edward glanced up at us as we sped down the ledge, landing lightly beside Bella, who was cowering against the side of the mountain.

"Great timing," Edward muttered to us, grinning.


	21. Screams and Love

First of all, HOLY CRAP EVERYONE, 21 CHAPTERS! :D Second, thanks for nearly making this up to about 8,000 views :'D Sorry guys, really short chapter here. My exams start at the end of the week (Friday) and I'm trying to focus on that.

We may not have been able to target Victoria, but we could still attack the other one, I realized. He became still as though he were being turned to stone. What emotion was she putting through his head exactly? Victoria let out a snarl and it took all of my concentration to not look at her.

"Don't run," Elizabeth said. I envied her clear control over her gift but said nothing all the same.

"Elizabeth, you traitor!" She screamed.

"I'm doing the world a favor. No one needs an insane vampire on the loose, Victoria," She said, her voice seeping with satisfaction.

"You're the insane one!" She hissed, lowering into a crouch.

"Bella, why don't you come to me?" I asked, pulling her towards me and hiding her behind my back. I could sense her clear discomfort and worry and nervousness. And I could tell that Edward wasn't happy with having her in the line of Victoria.

We waited in a deadly lock for a moment. Then, without warning, Victoria leaped... at me. It happened so fast, that I wasn't very aware of what was going on. Bella backed up as the wild read head smashed into me. She snarled at me and was attempting to get to my neck, but then she was ripped off of me. Edward very cleanly broke her arms and head off. All the while, Elizabeth kept a firm hold on the other one. When the fire blazed, Elizabeth let her control over the vampire to watch the flames and Edward began negotiating with him.

"Riley. Listen to me, she was lying. Everything that she said was a lie. You can go out in the sunlight any day of the year, it doesn't burn. The only thing that can kill us is fire. I promise you that she was only using you to get her revenge on me for killing her mate. Listen to me!" Edward said forcefully, watching him carefully as his eyes darted back and forth and he began fidgeting. Then suddenly, as if in a craven rage, he tossed himself into the flaming pit that was consuming Victoria's remains. His screams died off slowly; I will never forget them, and they will hauntingly traverse my memories for the rest of my life.

As we made our way off of the mountain, Jacob and Embry shot past us. Where were they off to in such a hurry? I honed in on their emotions, and I felt a wall of pain consuming them. Oh no. Someone had been hurt.

"I've got to make sure they're okay!" I shouted, taking off behind them. NO one dared to stop us.

The run was a lot longer than I think any of us wanted. When we made it to the clearing, I realized that the other wolves had phased. What was going on? I heard a voice scream out that sent needles through me. What? Wait, what? As I made the last few steps through the trees, I came to see a sight that literally scared me a basically tore my heart in two.

Seth, my beautiful soul mate, was laying on the ground, a crumpled heap, grasping his right side helplessly, screaming. I ran to him, falling on my knees.

"Carlisle!" I shouted, and he was there, already making a makeshift splint.

"A newborn got his arms around him. His arm and leg are broken, along with a few ribs. Because of the accelerated healing, I can't tell how they are doing. Sam, I need to x-ray him. I might have to re-break the bones." Carlisle said authoritatively.

Everything then happened so fast. I felt the day flash by me and then found myself waiting outside with the rest of the wolf pack as Carlisle re-broke my love.

Finally, the screaming stopped and my ears were no longer plagued by the sound of cracking bones. Carlisle emerged from the house, looking at all of us. He stopped at me momentarily, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly. He nodded, and then was gone. I walked into the house, making my way down the familiar hall of the house and listening to find my way to the bedroom. They'd put him in Sam's because he had a big bed. Emily was more than willing to give up the master bedroom for his sake.

Seth grimaced at me when I walked into the room. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he groaned balefully. I brushed his black hair back and pressed my hand against his burning skin. He smiled and closed his eyes.

"You're so soothing," He said, flashing his grin at me.

"I try," I grinned. In truth, I had tried to force his body to not register the pain, but I couldn't focus with his screams. It was all I could do now to place a layer of calm and no pain around him.

"Carlisle said I should be fine in about two hours or so," Seth said. "Will you lay down? I'm burning up."

"You're never too hot," I laughed and he winked at me.

"Accelerated healing. Actually makes you hotter,"

"Well, I'm not saying no to that one," I flirted and he smiled. I pressed my lips gently against his, and savored the flavor on his lips. He cringed for a moment before I realized that I'd lost focus again. "Sorry," I muttered.

"It's okay. Just lay down," He told me. I held his good hand and laid next to his left side, hoping not to jumble him too much.

"Much better," He smiled, pressing his face into my arm.

"Sleep now, my love," I told him. "I will be here when you wake."

"I know," He chuckled. He fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

How he managed to sleep as well as he did was beyond me. It was afternoon before he came to.

"Good morning babe," He said, reaching up to cradle my face.

"How are you feeling?" I glanced at him, a smile on my lips.

"Like a million bucks," He told me, pulling me down to him in a firm kiss. It wasn't gentle, like last night had been, but more of need. The moment was ruined by his stomach growling at us.

"Breakfast time," I joked.

"Can you at least pull off these damn splints?" He asked, motioning to his wrapped arm and leg.

"Sure thing," I answered, pulling them off within seconds.

I waited for him to join me, and when we walked into the kitchen, we found Emily, hard at work on food.

"There you go," She smiled as we entered her 'office' as I'd come to call it. It seemed that she worked here far more often than any other person I'd known.

Seth inhaled his food like it was the last meal he would eat. I kind of thought that it was adorable the way that he ate. Reminded me of my hunting trips.

The pack started clapping when we went out to the back, and a few whoops and high fives were exchanged. I grinned at Brady, who was clearly glad to be with his best friend again. After a few minutes of chatting, Emily brought out the food, and I watched impressed as Seth inhaled another plate of food. About halfway through the meal, Brady appeared at my side.

"Hey, Jas, can I speak to you for a sec?" He asked, and I nodded. We walked into the house, closing the door gently. The wolves had impressive hearing, but they couldn't hear through a distance this far with the door shut.

"What's up?" I asked, and he smiled sheepishly at me.

"Well... It's a boy problem," He told me, watching my face.

"Shoot," I answered, interested.

"Well... I'm kind of developing a crush," He said, and I smiled.

"Who is it?" I asked, and he blushed. "Someone I know?"

"Yeah. It's... It's Collin," He admitted. I felt my emotions darken.

"Brady, you know that Collin's straight," I started gently.

"Not really, actually. He got drunk the other night..." He started, but I held up my hand.

"Being drunk doesn't constitute the actual thing Brady. I'm honestly surprised that you would take advantage of him-" But he cut me off.

"I didn't! He kissed a guy that was at a party. They started getting really into it and I stopped it, offering to take Collin home before it got worse."

"Well, that still isn't a reason to think that deep down he might be gay. Although it might explain the homophobia from before," I said logically.

"So... what should I do?"

"I think that you ought to lay low for a bit. See if you can't get him to talk about his sexuality at all. Monitor how he acts. If there are any major shifts, come tell me, okay?"

"Sure thing. And Jasper?" He asked as we started making our way outside of the house.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," He grinned.

"No problem," I smiled.


	22. Phone Calls

A/N: Alright guys, I'm running out of ideas here... any thoughts on which direction I should take?

XXX

A few months had passed by after the fight with Victoria's newborn army. Elizabeth had said her thanks and left the area rather quickly. After, we spent time trying to adjust to the sudden shift in activities. Everything was coming to a stop rather quickly. Things were beginning to slow down. In fact, the biggest part of those few months were the wedding announcements of Bella and Edward, which showed up in March.

"Well, looks like they've finally decided to go with traditions anyway," Seth smiled as he read the card.

"I'm glad," I said, coming to put my head on his shoulder. "Speaking of weddings..." I started, and he kissed my cheek.

"Soon my love," He told me.

"I know. I'm just becoming an anxious groom... or would it be bride?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"Don't worry babe. All in due time," He told me. At that moment, the phone started to ring. I sighed and then headed to pick it up.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Can I speak to Mr. Jasper Whitlock?" Asked a voice that I recognized. Great. Smoking, drinking, cocaine abusing lady.

"Yes, what can I do you for?" I asked.

"I was calling about the two boys that you'd brought to us, Adam and Gage Harper," She said, her voice small.

"What about them?" I asked, my eyes narrowing and the tone in my voice serious.

"I was informed by Jane that they wished to speak to you. Do you have the time to talk?" She asked, and I could tell by her voice that she wished that I would say no.

"Of course," I smiled. "Put them on." There was a moment of silence and then...

"Jasper?" Adam asked.

"Hi Adam. What's up?" I asked. I looked around at Seth, who was watching me through narrowed eyes. I held up my friend hand in surrender and smiled at my husband-to-be.

"Well... we were wondering... I mean, Gage and I... if you were coming back down here? To get us?" He asked.

"Oh. Adam, buddy, listen. I'm not really old enough to be able to handle a family. Seth and I... we're not even married yet. I said I would take care of you, and I got you somewhere to stay-" I started, but he cut me off.

"You said you would take care of us! Leaving us in a home is NOT taking care of us!" He shouted.

"Adam..." I started, but once more, he cut me off.

"No, listen! You can't just leave us down here. Please? I know we're kids and that you're not really twenty or whatever and you're not married. But please, please don't leave Gage and I down here. I can't take it anymore. Please?" He begged, and the tears that were starting to come made me have to put the phone down for a second and breathe deeply, pinching my hand to stop myself from sobbing.

"Seth..." I said weakly, handing the phone to him. He'd always been stronger than me. Always.

I had to leave the room for a moment. Just last month, we'd found a little apartment that we'd decided to move into. No more going back and forth between the Cullen residence and Sam's house. Not that we didn't enjoy their presence, but rather that we needed our own space. It was a tiny thing, built with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. I walked to the window of the kitchen and leaned against the wall, looking out at the little complex that we lived in. Kids were out running and playing, laughter echoing through the house which I was just able to hear because of my enhanced ears.

I looked to the neighbor that lived to the right of us and noticed that she was outside, watering a plant. She looked up and stared right at me before turning and entering her house, slamming the door shut. It must have taken her a moment to realize that her kids were outside because the door flew open moments later to her yelling at her children to get inside. She shot me a dirty look before slamming her door shut. As I looked to the left of the house, an old lady was rocking in her chair. She waved at me light heartedly and continued to watch the neighborhood as matriarch of the area.

Momma Lee, she'd introduced herself to us as, knew everyone in the area. She often sat with kids from the neighborhood and told them stories about her childhood. She was the only person that continued to talk to Seth and myself. The neighbor on our right side, Grace and Bill Abbey had forbidden their children Charlie and Taylor from speaking to us unless it was in case of an emergency, according to Momma Lee. As for the neighbors on either side of them, they hadn't even introduced themselves.

A moment later, I felt arms wrapping around my midsection and a phone being pressed to my ear.

"Hello?" I managed after what had seemed like an eternity.

"Jasper?" Asked Gage, and I smiled at my memory of the cute kid.

"Hi Gage," I answered weakly.

"Adam said that Seth said that you would be down here to get us soon. Is that true?" He asked, and nearly dropped the phone as I turned to stare at Seth, who smiled.

"Y... yes," I said, smiling.

"Good. Bye bye!" He said, and the phone line went dead.

"Seth... Are you serious?" I asked, and he nodded, smiling at me. "I love you," I smiled.

"Just as I love you," He answered, wrapping me in his embrace.

"You won't regret it. We're going to make great parents," I mumbled into his chest and the feeling of sobs overcame me. I was so happy... But it was overwhelming.

"Babe? What's wrong?" He asked, lifting my face to his. "I thought you would be happy?"

"I am. I'm so happy that I'm crying," I smiled at him.

* * *

It took us time to find a lawyer willing to do the adoption papers with us. Luckily, Seth's Aunt Lela was a lawyer and decided that she would help us. When we got the final signatures on the paperwork, she sent them to the LADSS.

"Alright, now we just wait for them to fill our their end of the paperwork and you'll have them in no time. I'd give Adam and Gage a call though - it could take about a month depending on how slow the system is down there," Lela said.

That night, I called the LADSS to speak to Adam. When I told him the news, he started laughing and crying at the same time.

"Really?" He asked.

"Really," I answered.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" He shouted. I smiled and told him that I would see him before the month was over.

As our plans were revealed to everyone, I was shocked by the amount of support that everyone was giving us. Could it be that we were actually making a good decision?

"You'll make wonderful parents," Emily told me confidently.

"You think so?" I asked, and she nodded fervently.

"I know so. You're such a wonderful person. I just wonder... how will you handle the vampire thing?"

"I'm trying to figure that part out myself..." I trailed off.

As the end of the month drew close, I began to worry slightly about whether or not LADSS had finished their end of the bargain.

"Should we call?" I asked Seth. He was shrugging it off, but as the last day of March came like an impending deadline, we were both worried. I called Lela to see what might be the problem and she fell silent.

"Lela. What happened?" I asked seriously.

"Well, I'm not sure. They haven't been returning phone calls or emails. I don't know what to make of it. You might have to go down there..." She trailed off.

I hung up on Lela after a moment and decided to call the LADSS. I listened for what seemed like an eternity of ringing and various elevator music selections before someone answered.

"Thank you for calling the Las Angeles Department of Social Services, this is Jane, how can I help you?" Oh good, Jane.

"Hi Jane, this is Jasper Whitlock. I'm calling because as of the beginning of the month, some paperwork was sent down to your location to be filled out and returned so that my fiance and I could effectively adopt Adam and Gage Harper. It has been nearly an entire month and I was just wondering how things were coming along," I said as smoothly as I could.

"Mr. Whitlock, I'm afraid that any paperwork that we would have received at the beginning of the month would be effectively in the trash. Ambrosia, the woman that was here the day that you dropped the boys off, was fired and all of the things in her desk were tossed. I'm so sorry. If you have the files resent, we can easily have things done within two business days of reception," Jane told me, and I smiled at her professionalism and that this Ambrosia lady was fired.

"Thanks again Jane; I'll have my lawyer send the work down to you within the next day," I said. "Could you tell Gage and Adam about the small mishap and not to worry about anything?"

"Naturally sir. I hope you have a wonderful day," Jane said before the line went dead.

"Seth!" I called, who came running to the kitchen.

"What?" He asked, a razor in one hand and shaving cream in the other.

"Ambrosia, that lady that was the receptionist at LADSS got fired. Jane took over, but all of the files that were on her desk were thrown out. We have to have Lela resend the paperwork for Adam and Gage," I told him. He frowned, but then nodded.

"Okay. Can I go shave now?" He asked, and I looked up and down his naked figure for a moment, licked my lips, and then nodded.

"Yeah, but hurry up," I grinned. I dialed Lela's number again, who answered on the first ring.

"Lela," She said.

"Hey Lela, it's Jasper. I called LADSS. The secretary that worked there got fired at the first of the month and all of the paperwork that had been on her desk got tossed out. We have to resend those forms," I told her, and I could feel her relaxing even through the phone.

"Great! I'll make a copy of the originals that we kept here and send them off. I'll be sure to add on a note that says to call as soon as they finish and mail it out." She said, making mental notes to herself.

"Thanks Lela. And hey. I really appreciate it," I smiled.

"Thanks Jasper. Tell Seth I said hi," She said before hanging up the phone.


End file.
